diff --git a/.jshintrc b/.jshintrc
index 26853242..ed407a72 100644
--- a/.jshintrc
+++ b/.jshintrc
@@ -27,4 +27,5 @@
   , "es5": true
   , "esnext": true
   , "strict": false
+  , "onevar": true
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/lib/levelup.js b/lib/levelup.js
index 138247e7..cd76f0ab 100644
--- a/lib/levelup.js
+++ b/lib/levelup.js
@@ -368,14 +368,18 @@ LevelUP.prototype.toString = function () {
 }
 
 module.exports = function (location, options, callback) {
+  var message
+    , error
+    , levelup
+
   if (typeof options == 'function') {
     callback = options
     options = {}
   }
 
   if (typeof location != 'string') {
-    var message = 'Must provide a location for the database'
-    var error = new errors.InitializationError(message)
+    message = 'Must provide a location for the database'
+    error = new errors.InitializationError(message)
 
     if (callback) {
       return callback(error)
@@ -384,7 +388,7 @@ module.exports = function (location, options, callback) {
     throw error
   }
 
-  var levelup = new LevelUP(location, options)
+  levelup = new LevelUP(location, options)
   levelup.open(callback)
   return levelup
 }