All the tips on prepping your home for the monsoon from a Goa resident

“When I moved from Mumbai to New Delhi a few years ago I was mainly glad to never experience monsoon again,” she says, having been through the muck, traffic and flooding of the city. But just a few weeks of rain in Goa changed her experience of the season. “I have now literally become that person who drinks her coffee admiring the rain. The smells and sounds are wonderful, and even visually it’s beautiful,” she says. But the key to the peaceful enjoyment was being prepared for the effects of lashings of rain to their new home. “This is the first time we are living in a house and not an apartment. After the first rain we realised the things we needed to take care of in the house. The first thing we did was covered our patio with a roof and that helped a lot. Now it has become our spot to have meals and coffee. My husband also works out of there,” she says.

Now, having done everything required to ensure her first monsoon at home in Goa is a more peaceful one, Srimoyi shares some of her tips and ideas on making your home monsoon ready if you live in a place like this. “My biggest learning through all of this has been to just enjoy the rain. I never thought I would get there.”

For the Indoors

1. I love carpets and rugs and have about 11-12 around the house, but I removed all of them as the monsoon hit.
   
   
2. We added dehumidifier products like Absorbia in our wardrobe. We use an electric dehumidifier in our storage space.
   
   
3. Do not have closed wardrobes in Goa. Your things will get mold and get ruined. We have got curtains and I splurged on beautiful ones and that has saved my shoes, bags, and clothes. In any case I clean and dust my leather articles on a monthly basis. My jewelry is kept safe in hermetically sealed pouches.
   
   
4. Make sure your electronics are not close to a window and are well protected against moisture.
   
   
5. If you live in Goa, be prepared for power cuts. It’s wise to invest in an inverter or generator. Eventually we will move to solar because generators do create pollution. We also have power banks, torches, Wi Fi dongles to manage through power cuts.