My set up goes something like this..
1 - shield / Knife if I go that way with the character
2 - ax
3 - starts as torch ends as headlamp / swapped out with tools like cultivator or extra pickax... may end up sword if I go that route with the character.
4 - bow
5 - mace
6 - tool / utility main pickax, others swapped in as needed <hoe>
7 - build hammer
8 - main arrow type wanting to be used

Under 8 I put other arrow types to swap to.
Under 7 goes amber collection

Armor and cape
4 foods
Always have poison potion but only carry frost potion until I get wolf armor for it.

I don't use stam or health pots and I do "no death" runs.. personally I don't like using them and they feel like a crutch. Other than some boss fights I feel it is just my mistake if I let myself get killed when not using them. If the game was designed around Having to use them then I probably wouldn't even play. It feels cheap to me to use a potion like that, I mean it isn't as bad as skyrim or oblivion where you can pause time to heal and stuff but it's really just one step above that ha ha.