My starting strategy.
1st day light; grab all starting items. Submit 1st quest. Go out to an open area. Plant AA in ground as a centre point. Dig a 2 deep trench, and 2 high wall to protect a 9x9 area. Gather more dust by starting a trench 3 spaces further out, until night falls.
1 at night; place starting blocks over head with dust walls for a safe spot from spiders. Sieve dust for bone meal. Completes quests as you can now. Run around wall to attract mobs. They'll fall into the trench and you'll be able to kill any that survive the sun.
In day light start working on expanding the compound.
Do not plant crops. Use first 3 dirt for trees. 2 for silk and worms, other for saplings.
Keep 1 barrel for compost, the get 11 for rain. At first rain drink cold bottles and fill all empties. You should have time for the barrels to fill up twice. Once to get more clay and to stay full after rain stops.
Then build tinker tables for frying pan and mattock.
4th dirt to start seeds.
When expanding use barrels (for rain) as top when you can.
Use next 6-7 dirt to get the furnace, then your set.
Average silk tree gives about 25. Average saplings less then 8.
So 1 silk tree usually gives you 1 dirt & food.
A Water bottle only drops your temp by 0.05-0.1. The camel pack can drop it 2.0 but only takes 4 bottles to fill. Only use pack when temp is close to giving heat stroke.