To be frank, I think you need to step back and ask the question of "why do I need to do this" more before you ask "how will I do this"
not to be harsh but in my opinion I think you should prioritize getting the basic functionalities out of the way before you decide how your going to do these as you can easily make this feel more daunting than it has to if you plan big without thinking how big of a "ladder" you need to actually need to reach said goal.
As such I think you should get these functions of items done before you do further:
- Crafting items into other items.
- Consumable items that ether provide a heal/boost or trigger an action.
- Picking up and dropping items.
- Items spawning ether directly in the game world in a harvest-able state or dropping as loot from enemies/huntables.
- Having items that function as "fuel" for a process or action.