The first thing you want to do before you do any type of overseeding is to mow the lawn. Make sure that you mow it as short as possible. Put the lawn mower on the lowest possible setting and make sure that you get every area of the lawn without missing anything. It’s best to do this when the grass is already relatively short, because overseeding doesn’t work very well if you don’t pick up all of the clippings from the lawn mower. If you have grass that is relatively tall and you’re not using a lawn mower that has a bag on it, you’re going to find yourself doing a lot of extra work trying to pick up all of the clippings. Therefore, it’s best to maintain your lawn so that when you mow it shorter than normal, you don’t have as much work ahead of you. Obviously, your best bet is to use a lawn mower that has a bag attachment so that you don’t have to go around the entire yard picking up clippings after you’ve already mowed it. If you don’t have one of these available to you, consider renting one. If that’s not an option, you can use a rake to gather the clippings, but make sure you get the majority of them. This will add a lot of work and a lot of time to the project, so it’s really better to go into the situation prepared with the proper equipment.