diff --git a/lib/homesick.rb b/lib/homesick.rb
index ec31a49..57225a7 100644
--- a/lib/homesick.rb
+++ b/lib/homesick.rb
@@ -46,10 +46,15 @@ class Homesick < Thor
 
   protected
 
-  def user_dir
+  # class method, so it's convenient to stub out during tests
+  def self.user_dir
     @user_dir ||= Pathname.new('~').expand_path
   end
 
+  def user_dir
+    self.class.user_dir
+  end
+
   def homes_dir
     @homes_dir ||= Pathname.new('~/.homesick/repos').expand_path
   end
diff --git a/spec/spec_helper.rb b/spec/spec_helper.rb
index 2cf79bb..821d9ba 100644
--- a/spec/spec_helper.rb
+++ b/spec/spec_helper.rb
@@ -7,4 +7,13 @@ require 'construct'
 
 Spec::Runner.configure do |config|
   config.include Construct::Helpers
+
+  config.before do
+    @user_dir = create_construct
+    Homesick.stub!(:user_dir).and_return(@user_dir)
+  end
+
+  config.after do
+    @user_dir.destroy!
+  end
 end