Got a junk drawer — or two or three? Maybe a filled-to-the-rafters garage that hasn’t seen an actual car in years? You might benefit from the insights of Edmonds resident Erica DiMiele, who turned her talent for tidiness into a starring role on the hit reality TV series, Hoarders.

The start of season 10 airs on A & E next Tuesday, March 5, at 8 p.m., a segment in which she convinces a man to part with bottles of expired Mountain Dew. “I’m not calling you a hoarder,” she told him in a firm voice, ”but this is hoarding behavior.”

DiMiele, 29, has lived in Edmonds for five years — and loves it — after growing up in the Mill Creek/Lynnwood area. She got interested in the declutter field a decade ago. “I was always extremely organized and neat and thought, there must be an industry that caters to that mindset.”

There is, and she joined the local chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers, opening her own business when she was only 22. She now works as the hoarding specialist for SERVPRO of Edmonds, Lynnwood, and Bellevue West, and makes appearances on the TV show.

DiMiele follows the credo of fellow professional organizers: Shaming those who suffer from compulsive acquiring disorder is not helpful.

Referring to the Mountain Dew incident, she said, “I didn’t call him a hoarder because I didn’t want him to feel judged. I’m not there to disrespect anybody.” There’s always a therapist or doctor on set to make sure the process “is done in a healthy way,” she added.

Filming an episode takes about five days, including two or three days for cleaning up a property. “In real life,” she said, “it takes longer — weeks or even months.”

And when a show wraps, “We don’t just abandon people,” she said. “There’s an aftercare program they can choose to take part in, paid for by A & E.”

Not everyone takes advantage of the assistance. DiMiele said that those who don’t deal with causes of the disorder are likely to revert back to old ways.

“There are many reasons people do this,” she said. ”It can be a learned behavior. Researchers believe there is a genetic component. There may be financial distress.”

One thing people who hoard have in common is a skewed perceived value of possessions.

DiMiele noted that there’s a difference between hoarding and regular clutter.

“Hoarding is when a home no longer functions: You can’t take a bath because it’s full of magazines or you can’t cook in the kitchen. Clutter can be defined as postponed or unmade decisions.”

For those who are simply a bit disorganized, she offered a method for spring cleaning that’s used on the show.

“Have an action plan,” DiMiele said. “Make categories: keep, donate, trash, recycle. My lifelong rule is, when you bring something in, you have to take something out. That way you don’t accumulate. Start small and spend maybe 10 minutes a day on a project. If it’s a pile of magazines, read the articles right then if possible, or cut them out and put them in a folder or notebook, then recycle the rest.”

Clearly, there’s an interest in decluttering these days, with other TV shows and many books on the topic. DiMiele thinks it may be a reaction to hyper-consumerism, “an Amazon Prime culture of want, want, want, need, need, need,” she said.

She believes thankfulness is an effective declutter strategy. “We can be grateful for everything we already have.”

See a sneak peek of the season premier of Hoarders featuring DiMiele at https://youtu.be/RNTsqyGFi94. She can be contacted at 425-361-6154 or email EricaD@ServProOfEdmonds.com.

— By Connie McDougall