Leave the plugs which will, eventually be added back to the soil they came from. If you had to aerate that could be an indication that the soil does not have sufficient levels of organic matter in it.

Thanks. It was just the front yard as the neighbour rented an aerator - I passed on using it and he said he would do the front anyways. Fine. I was going to rent one in the falltime but if there is no use I won't bother.

If your lawn is compacted, aeration can help, especially if it's followed with some compost or other organic matter. If you're adding organic matter regularly, as time goes on, you'll probably find that it doesn't need aeration (the worms and soil microbes do it for you).

I recently read from a professional that he is having noticeably better results when he follows up aeration with crushing the dried plugs. It is a sort of top dressing. I like getting input from the pros because when they do something, they do it 30 or 40 times. That's good data.

If you have low spots that tend to collect water, you could sweep from the high area to the lower area.

While you have the plugs out of the ground, you could top dress with compost but you should really take advantage and water. Pretend you are trying to fill the holes and water for hours and hours. I'd start with 2 hours and see how your nerves hold up. Some people worry about the water bill, so keep that in mind. But having those holes in the ground is a great opportunity to get water deeper into your soil.

You can also throw the plugs into your compost bin if you don't like the looks of them. We just leave ours on the ground, as do most people.

For the record, not everybody aerates because they "had to;" sometimes it's just the right thing to do for your lawn, especially after a dry winter. Where I live, it's recommended to do it spring, fall, and sometimes even in hottest part of summer, to improve water absorption and retention: dry clay combined with dry air and little rain, as well as scorching intense sun makes for a lawn that breathes easier when there are bigger/more breathing holes!

As Bill stated, if you have a good, healthy soil, a soil that is well endowed with organic matter, aeration is not necessary.