Losing things and messes

I cannot even find the camera, let alone post a picture. It's strange, in most elements of my life have a very thorough awareness of where things are what needs to be done next etc. But when it come to keys, wallet, phone, and camera I am constantly loosing them. We have tried creating a place in our house where these things always go- but it just doesn't work for us.

Another related topic is simply that our entryway is a disaster! We can NEVER keep it clean, it doesn't have the same style that the rest of our house seems to have, it is always full of random crap in addition to holding shoes, bags, jackets, sweatshirts, baby bags, etc.

Do any of the people who read this blog have a similar problem or a solution? We are looking to buy a bookshelf from ikea that they make baskets that fit into the shelves perfectly? We are thinking maybe we could hide some things in baskets?

Help?!