I have tried that method also. But I believe the brain also files things, not only by alpha order, but by sound or rhyme order. Reason being, I have often found that by using the vowel sounds and consonant sounds I can recall names or objects. If it were strictly alpha order, how would the brains of primitive tribes file things if they have no alphabet?.........
I find that sometimes I remember words or names by the colors I attribute to the letters. For some reason, I think different letters have different colors, ('d' is green, 'e' is yellow, 'm' is red), and a word ends up having a color of its own. It's weird how our minds' work.