Why cottages need a spring ritual

Old cottages hold the winter differently to modern houses. The walls are thick, the windows are small, and the ceilings sit low enough to trap every bit of damp, smoke and cooking steam generated since October. By March the whole place can feel as though it has been holding its breath. Spring cleaning in a cottage isn't really about tidiness. It's about shifting air, salt, soot and stale moisture out of the fabric of the building before the warmer months arrive.

Do it over a week rather than a weekend. Cottages are full of awkward corners, and there is no prize for finishing in one exhausting day.

Open the windows and let the house breathe

Start with air, because everything else is easier once the rooms have been flushed through. Choose a dry, breezy morning, and open upstairs and downstairs windows at the same time so air moves through the house rather than simply into it. Cross-ventilation is what you are after.

• Open the front and back doors together for twenty minutes if the day allows. A through-draught does more than an hour of one open window.
• Work one side of the house at a time, opening windows on the sheltered and exposed sides together.
• Leave bedroom doors open while you work, and cupboard doors too, especially the airing cupboard, so trapped warmth and damp can escape.
• Shut everything again by mid-afternoon, before the evening chill sets in and the walls begin pulling moisture back in.

If the day turns wet, don't force it. A damp, drizzly afternoon will undo your work. Wait for a bright one.

Beat the rugs and air the soft furnishings

Rugs, cushions, curtains and throws hold a winter's worth of dust, woodsmoke and dog. Take rugs outside, hang them over a gate or a line, and beat them with a proper rug beater or the flat of a broom. Work from the back to the front, and don't be shy. The amount of dust that comes out of a rug which looks clean is always startling.

• Leave rugs hanging for an hour in the breeze before bringing them back in.
• Take curtains down and shake them, then hang them outside for a few hours. Most wool and lined curtains need airing, not washing.
• Turn mattresses and prop them against an open window for the morning.
• Wash cushion covers, throws and anything the dog sleeps on at the stated temperature, and dry them outside if you can.

While the furnishings are out, vacuum or brush the floors underneath properly. That is where the grit ends up.

Wash the salt from sills and glass

Winter leaves a fine grey film on windows, particularly in coastal cottages and anywhere near a gritted lane. It looks like ordinary dust, but it is salt and road grime, and it attracts moisture to the glass and the paintwork.

• Wipe sills, frames and window reveals with a cloth wrung out in warm water with a little washing-up liquid. Rinse and dry rather than leaving them wet.
• Clean glass on a cloudy day. Direct sun dries the solution too quickly and leaves streaks.
• Pay attention to the bottom edge of the frame and the little drainage slots. Clear these with an old toothbrush so rainwater can escape.
• Check the paint on sills and touch in any flaking patches once everything is dry. Spring is the right time, before the sun gets to work on bare wood.

The same salty film settles on door furniture, hinges and boot-room hardware, so give those a wipe and a drop of oil while you are there.

Clear the fireplaces and tackle the soot

If the cottage has open fires or a wood burner, this is the job that changes the whole smell of the house. Soot is fine, greasy, and it travels.

• Have the chimney swept before you start, not after. Otherwise everything you clean will need cleaning again.
• Lay old sheets over the hearth and surrounding floor before you touch the grate.
• Brush down the inside of the fireplace with a stiff brush, working downwards, and wipe the surround with a barely damp cloth.
• Wash the hearth stones with warm water and a little soda, then let them dry slowly rather than forcing them.
• Air the room with the window open while you work, and for an hour afterwards.

Wipe down the mantel, the picture frames above it and any brass or ironwork, which will have collected a dull grey layer over the winter.

Work through the cottage in the right order

Order matters more than effort. Dust and dirt travel downwards and outwards, so clean from the top of the house to the bottom.

• Upstairs first: bedrooms, then the landing and stairs.
• Then the main living rooms, working from ceiling to skirting board in each one.
• Kitchen and scullery next, including the insides of cupboards, which have held the smell of winter cooking.
• Boot room, porch and hallway last, since everything you carry out passes through them.

Flagstones and quarry tiles respond well to a scrub with warm water and a little soda, then a slow dry with the door open. Don't flood them. Old stone and lime mortar dislike standing water.

Finish by walking through with a basket and putting things back only if they genuinely belong there. A cottage in spring should feel lighter, cooler and properly fresh, with the windows open and the smell of damp woodsmoke finally gone.