Re:
Practice practice and more practice, getting in and out of toe clips take a lot of time to master. I learned to do this in the hall way of my house (You could use a lamp post), sitting on a bike and leaning against the wall with bike as vertical as poss and flicking the rear of the pedal so that my foot slides into the clip. try this at several pedal positions and remember to do both side. Eventually it becomes a natural instinct and you never look down.
As mattr said, leave the straps loose for most of the time. Also be aware of toe overlap if your wheel base is short or you have long feet