diff --git a/README.markdown b/README.markdown
index fd09da1..13b41ec 100644
--- a/README.markdown
+++ b/README.markdown
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ Notifications (growl/libnotify) can be disabled with:
 
 ``` bash
 $ guard --notify false
-$ guard -n false # shortcut
+$ guard -n f # shortcut
 ```
 
 Notifications can also be disabled by setting a `GUARD_NOTIFY` environment variable to `false`
diff --git a/lib/guard/notifier.rb b/lib/guard/notifier.rb
index 421cb70..e0a2224 100644
--- a/lib/guard/notifier.rb
+++ b/lib/guard/notifier.rb
@@ -3,13 +3,14 @@ require 'pathname'
 
 module Guard
   module Notifier
+    @enabled = false
 
     def self.turn_off
-      ENV["GUARD_NOTIFY"] = 'false'
+      @enabled = false
     end
 
     def self.turn_on
-      ENV["GUARD_NOTIFY"] = 'true'
+      @enabled = true
       case Config::CONFIG['target_os']
       when /darwin/i
         require_growl
@@ -19,7 +20,7 @@ module Guard
     end
 
     def self.notify(message, options = {})
-      unless disabled?
+      if enabled?
         image = options[:image] || :success
         title = options[:title] || "Guard"
         case Config::CONFIG['target_os']
@@ -31,8 +32,8 @@ module Guard
       end
     end
 
-    def self.disabled?
-      ENV["GUARD_NOTIFY"] == 'false'
+    def self.enabled?
+      @enabled
     end
 
   private
diff --git a/spec/guard/notifier_spec.rb b/spec/guard/notifier_spec.rb
index 5a228e1..9feea9b 100644
--- a/spec/guard/notifier_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/guard/notifier_spec.rb
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ describe Guard::Notifier do
 
   describe ".notify" do
     before(:each) { subject.turn_on }
+    after(:each)  { subject.turn_off }
 
     if mac?
       if growl_installed?
@@ -17,7 +18,7 @@ describe Guard::Notifier do
           subject.notify 'great', :title => 'Guard'
         end
       else
-        it { should be_disabled }
+        it { should_not be_enabled }
       end
     end
 
@@ -32,14 +33,12 @@ describe Guard::Notifier do
           subject.notify 'great', :title => 'Guard'
         end
       else
-        it { should be_disabled }
+        it { should_not be_enabled }
       end
     end
   end
 
   describe ".turn_off" do
-    before(:each) { subject.turn_off }
-    
     if mac? && growl_installed?
       it "does nothing" do
         Growl.should_not_receive(:notify)
@@ -52,7 +51,7 @@ describe Guard::Notifier do
       end
     end
 
-    it { should be_disabled }
+    it { should_not be_enabled }
   end
 
 end
diff --git a/spec/guard_spec.rb b/spec/guard_spec.rb
index fa17a99..c147f32 100644
--- a/spec/guard_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/guard_spec.rb
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ describe Guard do
       end
 
       it "should turn off notifier if env[GUARD_NOTIFY] is false" do
+        ENV["GUARD_NOTIFY"] = 'false'
         ::Guard::Notifier.should_receive(:turn_off)
         ::Guard.setup(:notify => true)
       end
diff --git a/spec/spec_helper.rb b/spec/spec_helper.rb
index f69ed16..1520849 100644
--- a/spec/spec_helper.rb
+++ b/spec/spec_helper.rb
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@ RSpec.configure do |config|
   config.run_all_when_everything_filtered = true
 
   config.before(:each) do
-    Guard::Notifier.turn_off
     @fixture_path = Pathname.new(File.expand_path('../fixtures/', __FILE__))
   end