Tips for those just starting....

As a beginner, it is hard.

I think one of the hardest parts of knowing where to find reliable information. In this day and age anyone can put anything on the internet and it’s hard to decipher what’s genuine and what’s opinion.
Also, I find it hard to simply know where to even look in the first place.

I also appreciate quality and am happy to pay for correct and well made things. By the same token, expensive is sometimes unjustifiable too. I really wanted to get some pc clothing but I’ve decided against it, the cost is a barrier for some folks.

On jerky, would it be correct to carry in wax cloth of some kind?

When do paper sacks/bags come into being?

I too lean toward a muslin or thin linen/cotton bag for much of my dried foodstuff.

Museum websites are great. The scribd website and 18th Century Material Culture slide shows are also really good at providing multiple examples of a type or group of items.

www.metmuseum.org/met-publications/american-engraved-powder-horns

materialculture18t.wixsite.com/18thcmcrc

www.scribd.com/document/240864437/Clothing-Male-Coats-Suits

www.scribd.com/document/288097548/Bedding-Blankets

Part of learning who's information to trust is paying attention to both corroboration from others and who refuresbit and how, how the poster reacts to being challenged, do they provide support for their claim, to they speak in absolutes and get ugly when questioned, are they willing to hear other evidence and change their position, does their support for their position use written period references or extant artwork, or does it boil down to supposition, conjecture, or a simple dogmatic clinging to "what I was always told."

+1 on not trusting the vendor to do the research for you.

Don't overdevelope a "persona" at 1st, unless you are reenacting a specific historical figure for an event or location. Persona development can grow over time,, if one so chooses.
Do, however, come up with a focused idea of; Who, who are you, what is or was your financial situation and occupation?
Where, where are you, how did you come to be there, if not born there where did you come from?
When, when did you come to be who you are and where you are, in as narrow a time frame as you might allow. How old are you at this time?

These questions and answers can keep the gear demon at bay. Thus avoiding the above situation of having a bunch of incorrect stuff. It will give guidelines for what gear and clothing is appropriate and correct.

Forget all this artificial "aging" stuff when making and buying gear and clothing, most stuff was new at some point, amd some gear was replaced now and then giving someone a mix of old and new looking stuff, just use it, it will age and weather.

This is likely redundant - en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_method

Similar to the scientific method in that it gets you to the best explanation based upon the evidence/data that currently exists. Is it 100%? No, but it is better than anything else we have.

Start a folder in which you place things you've found and keep collecting. Eventually, you will start to notice patterns/similarities/commonalities and can focus in more detail.

All that said - just do it and learn while doing!