A Little to the Left: Alternate Solutions Guide

For each puzzle, I’ll give a hint, and then behind a spoiler, an explanation for the sorting logic, and then a screenshot of the solution.

This guide presumes that for each puzzle you already know the ‘standard’ solution provided by the in-game hint option, and thusly those won’t be covered. Some of my own hints will reference them.

Books

Hint: Some of these books look like they’d take much longer to finish than others.
Explanation: Organize the books by ascending (or descending!) thickness.
Solution: 

Books, Again

Hint: The spines on these books are quite fancy.
Explanation: Arrange the books so the gold decoration on the spines makes its symmetrical pattern.
Solution: 

Coloured Pencils

Hint: The colors here would look pretty in the sky.
Explanation: Arrange the pencils in the order of the rainbow.
Solution: 

Hint: Someone really likes the color green.
Explanation: Organize the pencils by how worn-down the tip is.
Solution: 

Books, One More Time

Hint: The spines here all have one thing in common.
Explanation: Arrange the books so the horizontal bands across each gradually make an ascending (or descending) line.
Solution: 

Regular Pencils

Hint: The markings scribbled near the erasers look like a succession.
Explanation: Branching out from the pencil with the straight line in the middle, put the looping pencils and the jagged pencils in ascending length of symbol. (And clear away the pencil shavings.)
Solution: 

Tomato Cans

Hint: Center every squiggle.
Explanation: Center the information label for the can on the right, the loop-de-loop in the blue band to the left of the tomato for the middle can, and the green squiggle above the tomato for the can on the right. The logic behind this still mostly misses me.
Solution: 

Vegetable Jars

Hint: None of these jars are topped out in fluid.
Explanation: Arrange the jars by ascending (or descending) fluid level.
Solution: 

Hint: Most of these jars are a mix of yellow and green.
Explanation: Organize the jars in a yellow-green gradient.
Solution: 

Spoons

Hint: Stacking spoons by size is nice, but retrieving any one from the pile must be a hassle.
Explanation: Arrange the spoons by size in a row.
Solution: 

Bowls

Hint: These bowls must have been dropped in their stack.
Explanation: Line up the fracture in the bowls.
Solution: 

Grain Jars

Hint: The levels of grain look like bits of a landscape.
Explanation: Arrange the jars so that the grain lines make one continuous line.
Solution: 

Fruit

Hint: Some of these fruit stickers look different from the rest.
Explanation: Remove all the grey fruit stickers and match the three remaining stickers to their fruit.
Solution: 

Coins

Hint: “Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash stack.” – Billy Joel, probably
Explanation: Stack the coins by size, with the biggest coin on the bottom.
Solution: 

Hint: Some coins here are more chunky than the others.
Explanation: Organize the coins by the number of sides.
Solution: 

Paint Cans

Hint: What kind of person puts more than one color of paint in the same can?
Explanation: Rotate the cans so that the dripping paint lines up.
Solution: 

Button Box

Hint: More than by color, there’s a way of sorting that’s more tied to the practicality of thread.
Explanation: Organize buttons by the amount of holes.
Solution: 

Keys

Hint: Some of these keys look like they were built for a stupid amount of keyrings.
Explanation: Organize the keys by the amount of holes in the top.
Solution: 

Hint: The teeth here are reminiscent of something.
Explanation: Organize the keys by the teeth – each key’s teeth is designed after a specific number from one to seven.
Solution: 

Coins, Again

Hint: These coins should look like they’ve gone through hell.
Explanation: Have a set of black, grimy coins. (You can do this by clicking on them to dirty them up.)
Solution: 

Hint: Give it the rags-to-riches treatment.
Explanation: Make a clean-dirty gradient of coins.
Solution: 

Packing

Hint: If I were this person, I’d buy stuff in a few more colors. But I’m not.
Explanation: Pack the objects by color.
Solution: 

Moving Boxes

Hint: Do these boxes even need that much tape?
Explanation: Stack the boxes so the tape lines up.
Solution: 

Leaves

Hint: These leaves have been visited by a very methodical caterpillar.
Explanation: Arrange the leaves for the hole(s) on the left of a leaf in front expose a ole on the right of a leaf behind it. This takes mostly trial and error, and it’s hard to describe, but you’ll know what I’m talking about when you see it.
Solution: 

Hint: Some of these leaves are rougher-edged than the rest.
Explanation: Organize the leaves by the number of jags.
Solution: 

Crystals

Hint: Even by crystal standards, these are oddly shaped.
Explanation: Order the crystals so that their edges match.
Solution: 

Hint: There’s something interesting about the facets.
Explanation: Order the crystals by their number of facets.
Solution: 

Rocks

Hint: Try a + instead of an X.
Explanation: Arrange the rocks in a manner similar to the standard solution, with the omnirock in the middle, but put the solid color rocks in the cardinal directions, and the mixed rocks in the corners.
Solution: 

Candles

Hint: Escalate.
Explanation: Burn and/or grow (?) the candles to make a gradation in height.
Solution: