diff --git a/makesymlinks.sh b/makesymlinks.sh
index c0bf3aa3..2461f29f 100755
--- a/makesymlinks.sh
+++ b/makesymlinks.sh
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 
 ########## Variables
 
-dir=~/dotfiles                    # dotfiles directory
+dir=$(pwd)
 olddir=~/dotfiles_old             # old dotfiles backup directory
 files="bashrc vimrc vim zshrc oh-my-zsh private scrotwm.conf Xresources"    # list of files/folders to symlink in homedir
 
@@ -17,15 +17,10 @@ echo -n "Creating $olddir for backup of any existing dotfiles in ~ ..."
 mkdir -p $olddir
 echo "done"
 
-# change to the dotfiles directory
-echo -n "Changing to the $dir directory ..."
-cd $dir
-echo "done"
-
 # move any existing dotfiles in homedir to dotfiles_old directory, then create symlinks from the homedir to any files in the ~/dotfiles directory specified in $files
 for file in $files; do
     echo "Moving any existing dotfiles from ~ to $olddir"
-    mv ~/.$file ~/dotfiles_old/
+    mv ~/.$file $olddir/
     echo "Creating symlink to $file in home directory."
     ln -s $dir/$file ~/.$file
 done