[header] How to clean a cast iron stove [title] Place an old newspaper on the ground in front of the stove. [step] Do this as a protective measure before you begin scooping ashes out of the stove, as they are liable to drop onto the ground. A newspaper will make cleanup much easier. 
As you're spreading the newspaper, open the air dampener so that any ash stuck to it will fall into the firebox. [substeps] The air dampener will be a small knob on the front of the cast iron stove, that you should pull outward to open.