diff --git a/config/bootstrap.php b/config/bootstrap.php
index c769b4b..7da3234 100644
--- a/config/bootstrap.php
+++ b/config/bootstrap.php
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ function handle_setup_exception(SetupException $e){
         case 'table_contents':
             // Recoverable error.
             // Redirect to setup if we aren't already headed there.
-            $config = ConfigModel::load();
+            global $config;
             $currentPath = trim(parse_url($_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'], PHP_URL_PATH), '/');
 
             if (strpos($currentPath, 'setup') === false) {
diff --git a/public/index.php b/public/index.php
index 090b5e3..a8e2845 100644
--- a/public/index.php
+++ b/public/index.php
@@ -25,9 +25,17 @@ try {
 
 // Everything's loaded and setup is confirmed.
 // Let's start ticking.
+
+// Defining these as globals isn't great practice,
+// but this is a small, single-user app and this data will rarely change.
 global $db;
+global $config;
+global $user;
+
 $db = get_db();
 $config = ConfigModel::load();
+$user = UserModel::load();
+
 Session::start();
 Session::generateCsrfToken();
 
diff --git a/src/Controller/AdminController/AdminController.php b/src/Controller/AdminController/AdminController.php
index 3b5bc4f..3a3eef9 100644
--- a/src/Controller/AdminController/AdminController.php
+++ b/src/Controller/AdminController/AdminController.php
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@ class AdminController extends Controller {
     // GET handler
     // render the admin page
     public function index(){
-        $config = ConfigModel::load();
-        $user = UserModel::load();
+        global $config;
+        global $user;
 
         $vars = [
             'user' => $user,
@@ -31,8 +31,8 @@ class AdminController extends Controller {
 
     // save updated settings
     private function save(){
-        $config = ConfigModel::load();
-        $user = UserModel::load();
+        global $config;
+        global $user;
 
         // handle form submission
         if ($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] === 'POST') {
diff --git a/src/Controller/AuthController/AuthController.php b/src/Controller/AuthController/AuthController.php
index 0d55230..7885317 100644
--- a/src/Controller/AuthController/AuthController.php
+++ b/src/Controller/AuthController/AuthController.php
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 <?php
 class AuthController extends Controller {
     function showLogin(?string $error = null){
-        $config = ConfigModel::load();
+        global $config;
         $csrf_token = Session::getCsrfToken();
 
         $vars = [
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ class AuthController extends Controller {
     }
 
     function handleLogin(){
-        $config = ConfigModel::load();
+        global $config;
 
         $error = '';
 
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ class AuthController extends Controller {
 
     function handleLogout(){
         Session::end();
-        $config = ConfigModel::load();
+        global $config;
         header('Location: ' . $config->basePath);
         exit;
     }
diff --git a/src/Controller/CssController/CssController.php b/src/Controller/CssController/CssController.php
index 4d597de..9209a3e 100644
--- a/src/Controller/CssController/CssController.php
+++ b/src/Controller/CssController/CssController.php
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 
 class CssController extends Controller {
     public function index() {
-        $config = ConfigModel::load();
-        $user = UserModel::load();
+        global $config;
+        global $user;
         $customCss = CssModel::load();
 
         $vars = [
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ class CssController extends Controller {
     }
 
     public function handlePost() {
-        $config = ConfigModel::load();
+        global $config;
 
         switch ($_POST['action']) {
         case 'upload':
diff --git a/src/Controller/HomeController/HomeController.php b/src/Controller/HomeController/HomeController.php
index 628bc44..1253260 100644
--- a/src/Controller/HomeController/HomeController.php
+++ b/src/Controller/HomeController/HomeController.php
@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@ class HomeController extends Controller {
     // renders the homepage view.
     public function index(){
         $page = isset($_GET['page']) ? max(1, (int)$_GET['page']) : 1;
-        $config = ConfigModel::load();
-        $user = UserModel::load();
+        global $config;
+        global $user;
 
         $limit = $config->itemsPerPage;
         $offset = ($page - 1) * $limit;
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ class HomeController extends Controller {
         }
 
         // get the config
-        $config = ConfigModel::load();
+        global $config;
 
         // redirect to the index (will show the latest tick if one was sent)
         header('Location: ' . $config->basePath);
diff --git a/src/Controller/MoodController/MoodController.php b/src/Controller/MoodController/MoodController.php
index b48b56c..be99f2b 100644
--- a/src/Controller/MoodController/MoodController.php
+++ b/src/Controller/MoodController/MoodController.php
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 <?php
     class MoodController extends Controller {
         public function index(){
-            $config = ConfigModel::load();
-            $user = UserModel::load();
+            global $config;
+            global $user;
             $view = new MoodView();
 
             $moodPicker = $view->render_mood_picker(self::get_emojis_with_labels(), $user->mood);
@@ -23,8 +23,8 @@
                 }
 
                 // Get the data we need
-                $config = ConfigModel::load();
-                $user = UserModel::load();
+                global $config;
+                global $user;
                 $mood = $_POST['mood'];
 
                 // set the mood