I sympathize

Molly loves to get into the garbage or take things off the counter if we leave stuff on the counter. I don't believe she does it to cause destruction, just to let us know how miffed she is that we left. Our new crate should be arriving today actually - it's really because we have proven to not be able to remember to take the garbage out or to put things away on the counter! As simple as it seems, we're not yet trained! It's honestly more my husband than me. While he's been away I've successfully left Molly alone in the house for up to 5 hours and she was a pure angel - but that was after double and triple checking the house after major cleanups/declutterings. Baby gates don't work, they're a piece of cake for her to bust through - and she does like the challenge of working through something that keeps her out of the kitchen or garbage cupboard. Even if we remove the garbage from the cupboard she still likes to open the cupboard (and got past all baby locks).
Molly is crate trained and I'm hoping that reintroducing the crate goes smoothly. We only plan to use it when we have to rush out of the house for a few hours and don't have time to do thorough house checks. It's mostly for safety - we don't want her to get into something toxic as she once did with her incontinence meds.
And the crate is big enough that I could comfortably lay down in it with her if I so choose
