diff --git a/init.el b/init.el
index 59ceba6ef..dab3df983 100644
--- a/init.el
+++ b/init.el
@@ -30,7 +30,8 @@
 ;; The packages you want installed. You can also install these
 ;; manually with M-x package-install
 ;; Add in your own as you wish:
-(defvar my-packages
+(defvar my-packages nil)
+(setq my-packages
   '(;; makes handling lisp expressions much, much easier
     ;; Cheatsheet: http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/PareditCheatsheet
     paredit