Here are some of the best ways to shovel snow
Most people don’t look forward to shoveling snow, but it can be a lot easier and safer if you know how to do it.
BOSTON – Boston residents can spend hours painstakingly shoveling out their vehicles from under mounds of snow after winter weather slams the city, and it can be gut-wrenching to pull up after a long day only to find someone has swooped into that parking spot to take advantage of all that hard work.
Thus, the tradition of using everyday objects as a space saver was created.
When a snow emergency is declared in Boston, main roads must be cleared of all cars so plows and emergency vehicles can traverse the snow-covered streets. Any vehicles that remain will be ticketed and towed.
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A parking space saver is seen in South Boston on East Third St this afternoon, February 11, 2011. Staff photo by Mark Garfinkel (Photo by Mark Garfinkel/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
And anyone living in or who has previously lived in Boston during a nor'easter knows parking can be tricky.
Some parking garages offer discounts to residents who have neighborhood-specific parking stickers. And there are other options. Some parking lots at businesses will allow residents to park until the snow stops falling.
But for people living in neighborhoods that aren't required to move their vehicles, their lives are a little easier.
Until it comes time to shovel themselves out.
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Boston, MA 01/05/18: A chair is used as a space saver in South Boston on Friday, January 5, 2018. Staff photo by Nicolaus Czarnecki (Photo by /MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
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BOSTON - MARCH 1: Evan Butler's patriotic chair is a saver for his vehicle at left. He shovels out another car behind it. South Boston residents talk about their beloved space savers, on Sunday, March 1, 2015. Mayor Martin J. Walsh has declared that all must be gone Monday, or they will be removed. (Photo by Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
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BOSTON, MA - FEBRUARY 10: A sign on a "space saver" in a shoveled out parking spot issues a warning on the day after a blizzard in Boston, Feb. 10, 2017. (Photo by David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
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Boston, MA 01/11/18: A vacuum cleaner is used as a space saver in South Boston on Thursday, January 11, 2018. Staff photo by Nicolaus Czarnecki (Photo by /MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
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Boston, MA 01/11/18: A drum is used as a space saver on G Street in South Boston on Thursday, January 11, 2018. Staff photo by Nicolaus Czarnecki (Photo by /MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
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BOSTON, MA - FEBRUARY 12: A chair marks a saved parking space on Lenoxdale Avenue in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood on Feb. 12, 2017. (Photo by Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
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BOSTON, MA - FEBRUARY 14: A Valentine's Day parking space saver offering free candy is pictured in South Boston on Feb. 14, 2017. (Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
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Boston, MA 01/11/18: A bucket and a bin are used as a space saver in South Boston on Thursday, January 11, 2018. Staff photo by Nicolaus Czarnecki (Photo by /MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
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Boston, MA: Boston endures another snow storm Tuesday February 1, 2011. Usually a necestity in the summer this fan serves another purpose as a parking space saver on West Fourth Street in South Boston. Staff photo by Ted Fitzgerald (Photo by Ted Fitzgerald/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
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BOSTON, MA - JANUARY 9: A chair serves as a "space saver" for a parking spot on West First Street in South Boston on Jan. 9, 2018. Boston has enforced a 48-hour rule when it comes to space savers. The objects can only be used while a snow emergency is declared, and must be removed 48 hours after it has been lifted, but not all residents comply. (Photo by David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
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BOSTON, MA - JANUARY 9: An orange cone and a Christmas tree serve as a "space saver" for a parking spot on O Street in South Boston on Jan. 9, 2018. Boston has enforced a 48-hour rule when it comes to space savers. The objects can only be used while a snow emergency is declared, and must be removed 48 hours after it has been lifted, but not all residents comply. (Photo by David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
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Boston, MA 02/01/15: A toddler water table is left out as a parking space saver in Southie. February 01, 2015 (Staff Photo by Faith Ninivaggi) (Photo by FAITH NINIVAGGI/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
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Boston, MA 02/01/15: A tripod is left out as a space saver in Southie. February 01, 2015 (Staff Photo by Faith Ninivaggi) (Photo by FAITH NINIVAGGI/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
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BOSTON, MA - JANUARY 9: A stool serves as a "space saver" for a parking spot on N Street in South Boston on Jan. 9, 2018. Boston has enforced a 48-hour rule when it comes to space savers. The objects can only be used while a snow emergency is declared, and must be removed 48 hours after it has been lifted, but not all residents comply. (Photo by David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
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BOSTON, MA - JANUARY 9: A vacuum cleaner serves as a "space saver" for a parking spot on East Fourth Street in South Boston on Jan. 9, 2018. Boston has enforced a 48-hour rule when it comes to space savers. The objects can only be used while a snow emergency is declared, and must be removed 48 hours after it has been lifted, but not all residents comply. (Photo by David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
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Boston, MA 02/01/15: A vacuum is left out as a parking space saver in Southie. February 01, 2015 (Staff Photo by Faith Ninivaggi) (Photo by FAITH NINIVAGGI/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
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Boston, MA 1/31/05: Will this cart last past Wednesday? A parking space saver in South Boston. - Staff Photo by Jon Hill. Saved in Tuesday ) (Photo by Jon Hill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
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BOSTON, MA - JANUARY 9: A deck table serves as a "space saver" for a parking spot in East Sixth Street in South Boston on Jan. 9, 2018. Boston has enforced a 48-hour rule when it comes to space savers. The objects can only be used while a snow emergency is declared, and must be removed 48 hours after it has been lifted, but not all residents comply. (Photo by David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
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It can take quite a while for Bostonians to clear all the snow from on top of and around their cars. And the process takes even longer when a snowplow rolls through, pushing it all back to where it came from.
But when the job is done, and it's possible to pull out of the space, you risk losing it to someone else.
To help, Boston has a rule that everyday objects like chairs, vacuums and trash cans can be used as space savers to claim the coveted space.
However, that rule only applies if a snow emergency is declared, and they're only allowed for 48 hours after the snow emergency ends. After that, you need to move it, or the city will remove it for you.
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BOSTON, MA - FEBRUARY 10: A sign on a "space saver" in a shoveled out parking spot issues a warning on the day after a blizzard in Boston, Feb. 10, 2017. (Photo by David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
And anyone who dares move a space saver to steal the parking spot risks slashed tires, keyed cars, broken windows - or worse.
After a snowstorm in January 2022, one unlucky resident awoke to find his Jeep destroyed, according to Boston 25 News.
That resident told reporter Jason Law that he thinks his vehicle was targeted for parking in a space that had been shoveled out earlier.
The following day, he said he found someone had shoveled snow inside the vehicle and had vomited all over the interior.
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FILE - An ironing board is used as a space saver to claim a shoveled parking spot on East 4th Street in South Boston, Massachusetts on December 16, 2013, after the first snow storm of the season. (Photo by Jessica Rinaldi for The Boston Globe via Getty Images) (Getty Images)
"It was absolutely destroyed," the resident told Law. "The inside. They just puked everywhere."
He told Boston 25 News there was no space saver in the parking spot or any other object indicating it had been claimed. He filed a report and the Boston Police Department investigated the incident.
So, even if a Boston resident doesn’t want to use a space saver, most follow the rules and dare not touch or move it – just to be safe.