I went almost 9 years, and here's what I did back in 2002:
1. Ordered a new, plastic certificate via the FAA web site (I had an address change and also wanted my SS# removed (original certificate was from 1975).
2. Went to see my former AME and got my medical.
3. Ordered a bunch of King videos to review the new airspace, regs, etc. Watched them all. You can review material as you see fit, but I found the videos very helpful.
4. Went out to the local flight school, told them what I wanted to do, and shortly thereafter an instructor became available (nice guy, no issues with him, we got along well right from the start).
5. We took a Piper Arrow IV (I used to fly a Cherokee 235) and off we went!
6. I flew with him just about every day. We covered all the VFR stuff and then the IFR stuff.
After about 11-12 hours I had my BFR and IPC, and that was that.
Keep in mind that I had about 1300 hrs in my log book when I stopped flying, so things came back rather quickly for me.