I'm going for every item, so to prepare for 1.6, I made sure to have an extra for every quality of every fish, to make a smoked version.
I also have at least 5 extra of a given quality of every fruit and mushroom, for the dehydrated version.
Is there anything else I can do to prepare, to make my life easier when 1.6 drops?
There are a number of new things you'll probably want to craft in v1.6 and it'll go quicker if you have:
• a stack or more of basic things like Fiber, Sap, Wood, and Stone for some new recipes
• 50-100 Iron Bars and maybe 20 Gold and Iridium will come in handy for the same
• 100 Hardwood or more for other new recipes
• a few dozen of every Tree seed so you can craft multiples of something new
• an Ancient Doll or 3 for a (mostly) cosmetic item
• extras of your fave Skull Cavern Buffs for one of the new events
• an array of mushrooms and crops for a new local quest
An event you'll definitely want to focus on is completely Foraging the new Summer event as you'll get a resource that you'll be constantly short of for a while. Luckily after the event it slowly regenerates so you'll be collecting it from around the main maps for a while.
Make sure you have your main tools up to Iridium Level as that will help with some new features.