I grew up in a house with an outhouse and wood stoves...that part is no sweat...but in the event of a grid going down it'll be far worse the whole infastructure will come to a screeching halt...alot of our technology will cease to exist.
It'll be hard. But much harder for some than others.
While it would be a major event, I don't think it's as bad as some make it out to be. Certainly a big loss of most peoples standard of living and quality of life. But the Norks and other third worlders seem to live without it.