diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 64a95ae..94636e1 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -88,6 +88,14 @@ Advanced Features
 
 Setting a CHEATPATH
 ----------------------
+
+By default cheatsheets are stored in the `~/.cheat/` directory, you can
+override it by setting `DEFAULT_CHEAT_DIR` environment variable.
+
+```bash
+export DEFAULT_CHEAT_DIR=/path/to/my/cheats
+```
+
 By default, all cheatsheets are installed to `~/.cheat/`, but you can instruct
 `cheat` to look for cheatsheets in other directories by exporting a `CHEATPATH`
 environment variable:
diff --git a/cheat b/cheat
index 2abc94a..22007a8 100755
--- a/cheat
+++ b/cheat
@@ -3,7 +3,8 @@ import os
 import sys
 import subprocess
 
-DEFAULT_CHEAT_DIR = os.path.join(os.path.expanduser('~'), '.cheat')
+DEFAULT_CHEAT_DIR = os.environ.get('DEFAULT_CHEAT_DIR') or \
+                    os.path.join(os.path.expanduser('~'), '.cheat')
 USE_PYGMENTS      = False
 
 # NOTE remove this check if it is confirmed to work on windows