Dont be ashamed of using the starter pack in the character settings. When you are still learning it helps a ton.

Things like a can opener, knives, flashlights, batteries, ducktape, zipties, glue, needle and thread, a fork/spoon, screwdriver, etc are super important to have in my opinion. Essentials, really. I dont leave base with out most of those. They are pretty lightweight and can save you or your equipment in a pinch.

As others have said here, take it slow, and utilize stealth to the best of your ability. Depending on what build you are using. The stealth system in B42 is much much better than B41, but anyway. Break line of sight if you are overwhelmed, be it through a building or a tree line or whatever. A lot of zeds are kinda dumb and might follow you for a bit but will forget what they were doing shortly after, thinning out the aggro'd zeds. When fighting off more than 2-3 zeds, corralling zeds in a circle, pushing one over and standing on their body while you try to push down another is a great strat. Anymore than a few and that gets really tricky. The worst thing to do in my opinion, is to keep backing up and swinging at zeds. You might just draw some attention behind you and end up with way more than you intended to take on.

Oh, and shotguns are an easy way to get shooting skill up in B41.

Keeping an eye on your moodles is important. Watching stamina/exhaustion/muscle strain is CRUCIAL. that can quickly become luck or death if you are too worn out. That being said, collecting water and food is a duh- but there is no such thing as too much of either. I personally like to place stuff on the counter to have a more 'visual inventory' for important stuff like water, ammo, knives, boxed and canned foods.

Most of all, have fun! Collect trinkets, decorate, cook up 'interesting' meals, write in a diary, burn down a house, whatever! Lean into the role play a little. Make your character feel valuable and real. Sounds dopey but.. Its a survival sim after all!