Storing things in a crawl space

[Anonymous]

Just bought a house and it has a crawl space. It’s incredibly clean and the previous owners used it extensively for storage. They have metal shelves set up that they left, it has lighting and a dehumidifier. The ceiling is open joists to the upstairs and the upper foot or so of the walls is unfinished cinder block. The rest seems painted with waterproofing. The sellers reported having water at some point but installed a French drain. So it all seems clean and dry.

Question is can we treat this just like a spare closet for storing things? I have plastic bins with snap on lids with seasonal clothes, baby clothes packed in cardboard boxes. Are these ok to store in these containers or should we get things that fully seal? I’ve only ever had finished basement storage or an attic.

[Anonymous]

I would not do this. I'd only store things there that I'd store in a garage or shed - tools, equipment, bikes, etc.

[Anonymous]

We had a space similar to this and my recommendation would be to hold off for a bit to understand how the seasonal weather impacts the space. For instance, we stored some hiking equipment (old packs, tents, etc) and the humidity made for a moldy smell after a short period. It may be good for things that wont take on smell, etc. but I would suggest watching it for a while and only store tools/seldom used equipment until you know more about how the space is insulated.

[Anonymous]

There's a dehumidifier for a reason. Be careful what you store there.