You could disable any System Extensions you don´t need (modem, printers, language kits, ...). Also you could turn on the Operating Systes Virtual Memory in the Memory Control Panel. Performance will go down, but you can start any program at least.
You could also switch to "non-carbonized" programs, that are a lot smaller, and are incredibly non-demanding from todays point of view. RagTime 3.2 or AppleWorks 5 instead of Word, Photoshop 5 (not sure about 6?) or Illustrator 8, XPress 4.1 and such programs are highly professional, and are much less demanding. Mac OS 8.6. is always a good option, as long as you do not need 9 functionality! In my experiance it was always much more stable than any 9 version.
Also if I remember correctly 8.6 ran fine at my 6100 with 24MB Ram and virtual memory.