I had great success with crate training my first pup and not so much with the second. She is 1 year and still stays in her crate while we are gone and sleeps in there at night. Even now, she will occasionally have accidents, pee pee. I do put bedding in there so it feels comfy to them and hopefully discourages the urge to soil the comfy place they stay in.
I can't leave her out. Crating her is as much for her safety, as for my sanity.
Good Luck to you, I know this is a difficult task to tackle.
It does take some time and and TON of patience. LOL
Where is your crate? I kept mine in the living room, where we spend most of the time. I didn't want them to feel as though the crate was punishment.