diff --git a/system/core/CodeIgniter.php b/system/core/CodeIgniter.php
index 97527e5..04f346c 100755
--- a/system/core/CodeIgniter.php
+++ b/system/core/CodeIgniter.php
@@ -59,14 +59,7 @@
  *  Load the framework constants
  * ------------------------------------------------------
  */
-	if (defined('ENVIRONMENT') AND file_exists(APPPATH.'config/'.ENVIRONMENT.'/constants.php'))
-	{
-		require(APPPATH.'config/'.ENVIRONMENT.'/constants.php');
-	}
-	else
-	{
-		require(APPPATH.'config/constants.php');
-	}
+ 	load_environ_config('constants', TRUE);
 
 /*
  * ------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/system/core/Common.php b/system/core/Common.php
index b0921fe..9e05f3d 100644
--- a/system/core/Common.php
+++ b/system/core/Common.php
@@ -47,7 +47,6 @@
 * Since there are a few places where we conditionally test for PHP > 5
 * we'll set a static variable.
 *
-* @access	public
 * @param	string
 * @return	bool	TRUE if the current version is $version or higher
 */
@@ -76,7 +75,6 @@
  * the file, based on the read-only attribute.  is_writable() is also unreliable
  * on Unix servers if safe_mode is on.
  *
- * @access	private
  * @return	void
  */
 if ( ! function_exists('is_really_writable'))
@@ -118,18 +116,17 @@
 // ------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 /**
-* Class registry
-*
-* This function acts as a singleton.  If the requested class does not
-* exist it is instantiated and set to a static variable.  If it has
-* previously been instantiated the variable is returned.
-*
-* @access	public
-* @param	string	the class name being requested
-* @param	string	the directory where the class should be found
-* @param	string	the class name prefix
-* @return	object
-*/
+ * Class registry
+ *
+ * This function acts as a singleton.  If the requested class does not
+ * exist it is instantiated and set to a static variable.  If it has
+ * previously been instantiated the variable is returned.
+ *
+ * @param	string	the class name being requested
+ * @param	string	the directory where the class should be found
+ * @param	string	the class name prefix
+ * @return	object
+ */
 if ( ! function_exists('load_class'))
 {
 	function &load_class($class, $directory = 'libraries', $prefix = 'CI_')
@@ -191,12 +188,11 @@
 // --------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 /**
-* Keeps track of which libraries have been loaded.  This function is
-* called by the load_class() function above
-*
-* @access	public
-* @return	array
-*/
+ * Keeps track of which libraries have been loaded.  This function is
+ * called by the load_class() function above
+ *
+ * @return	array
+ */
 if ( ! function_exists('is_loaded'))
 {
 	function is_loaded($class = '')
@@ -215,14 +211,13 @@
 // ------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 /**
-* Loads the main config.php file
-*
-* This function lets us grab the config file even if the Config class
-* hasn't been instantiated yet
-*
-* @access	private
-* @return	array
-*/
+ * Loads the main config.php file
+ *
+ * This function lets us grab the config file even if the Config class
+ * hasn't been instantiated yet
+ *
+ * @return	array
+ */
 if ( ! function_exists('get_config'))
 {
 	function &get_config($replace = array())
@@ -273,11 +268,10 @@
 // ------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 /**
-* Returns the specified config item
-*
-* @access	public
-* @return	mixed
-*/
+ * Returns the specified config item
+ *
+ * @return	mixed
+ */
 if ( ! function_exists('config_item'))
 {
 	function config_item($item)
@@ -302,17 +296,16 @@
 // ------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 /**
-* Error Handler
-*
-* This function lets us invoke the exception class and
-* display errors using the standard error template located
-* in application/errors/errors.php
-* This function will send the error page directly to the
-* browser and exit.
-*
-* @access	public
-* @return	void
-*/
+ * Error Handler
+ *
+ * This function lets us invoke the exception class and
+ * display errors using the standard error template located
+ * in application/errors/errors.php
+ * This function will send the error page directly to the
+ * browser and exit.
+ *
+ * @return	void
+ */
 if ( ! function_exists('show_error'))
 {
 	function show_error($message, $status_code = 500, $heading = 'An Error Was Encountered')
@@ -326,15 +319,14 @@
 // ------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 /**
-* 404 Page Handler
-*
-* This function is similar to the show_error() function above
-* However, instead of the standard error template it displays
-* 404 errors.
-*
-* @access	public
-* @return	void
-*/
+ * 404 Page Handler
+ *
+ * This function is similar to the show_error() function above
+ * However, instead of the standard error template it displays
+ * 404 errors.
+ *
+ * @return	void
+ */
 if ( ! function_exists('show_404'))
 {
 	function show_404($page = '', $log_error = TRUE)
@@ -348,14 +340,13 @@
 // ------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 /**
-* Error Logging Interface
-*
-* We use this as a simple mechanism to access the logging
-* class and send messages to be logged.
-*
-* @access	public
-* @return	void
-*/
+ * Error Logging Interface
+ *
+ * We use this as a simple mechanism to access the logging
+ * class and send messages to be logged.
+ *
+ * @return	void
+ */
 if ( ! function_exists('log_message'))
 {
 	function log_message($level = 'error', $message, $php_error = FALSE)
@@ -377,7 +368,6 @@
 /**
  * Set HTTP Status Header
  *
- * @access	public
  * @param	int		the status code
  * @param	string
  * @return	void
@@ -464,19 +454,18 @@
 // --------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 /**
-* Exception Handler
-*
-* This is the custom exception handler that is declaired at the top
-* of Codeigniter.php.  The main reason we use this is to permit
-* PHP errors to be logged in our own log files since the user may
-* not have access to server logs. Since this function
-* effectively intercepts PHP errors, however, we also need
-* to display errors based on the current error_reporting level.
-* We do that with the use of a PHP error template.
-*
-* @access	private
-* @return	void
-*/
+ * Exception Handler
+ *
+ * This is the custom exception handler that is declaired at the top
+ * of Codeigniter.php.  The main reason we use this is to permit
+ * PHP errors to be logged in our own log files since the user may
+ * not have access to server logs. Since this function
+ * effectively intercepts PHP errors, however, we also need
+ * to display errors based on the current error_reporting level.
+ * We do that with the use of a PHP error template.
+ *
+ * @return	void
+ */
 if ( ! function_exists('_exception_handler'))
 {
 	function _exception_handler($severity, $message, $filepath, $line)
@@ -518,7 +507,6 @@
  * This prevents sandwiching null characters
  * between ascii characters, like Java\0script.
  *
- * @access	public
  * @param	string
  * @return	string
  */
@@ -552,12 +540,11 @@
 // ------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 /**
-* Returns HTML escaped variable
-*
-* @access	public
-* @param	mixed
-* @return	mixed
-*/
+ * Returns HTML escaped variable
+ *
+ * @param	mixed
+ * @return	mixed
+ */
 if ( ! function_exists('html_escape'))
 {
 	function html_escape($var)
@@ -566,12 +553,57 @@
 		{
 			return array_map('html_escape', $var);
 		}
-		else
-		{
-			return htmlspecialchars($var, ENT_QUOTES, config_item('charset'));
-		}
+
+		return htmlspecialchars($var, ENT_QUOTES, config_item('charset'));
 	}
 }
 
+// ------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+/**
+ * Load Environmental config directory files.
+ *
+ * In several places we check to see if the environment is loaded up and if the file
+ * that is being requested lives in said environment. Otherwise load up the file from
+ * the main CI config dir.
+ *
+ * @todo 	Optimize a bit to lessen the file system hits if the file has been loaded.
+ * @param 	string 	filename without extension.  eg:  'config' or 'hooks'
+ * @param 	boolean	whether or not to do a `require_once()` or a simple `include()`
+ * @return 	void
+ */
+ if ( ! function_exists('load_environ_config'))
+ {
+	function load_environ_config($file, $require=FALSE)
+	{
+		if (defined('ENVIRONMENT') AND file_exists(APPPATH.'config/'.ENVIRONMENT.'/'.$file.'.php'))
+		{
+			if ($require)
+			{
+				require_once(APPPATH.'config/'.ENVIRONMENT.'/'.$file.'.php');
+			}
+			else
+			{
+				include(APPPATH.'config/'.ENVIRONMENT.'/'.$file.'.php');
+			}
+			
+			return;
+		}
+
+		if ($require)
+		{
+			require_once(APPPATH.'config/'.$file.'.php');
+		}
+		else
+		{
+			include(APPPATH.'config/'.$file.'.php');
+		}
+		
+		return;
+	}
+ }
+
+// ------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
 /* End of file Common.php */
 /* Location: ./system/core/Common.php */
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/system/core/Hooks.php b/system/core/Hooks.php
index aa251a3..6a36ce9 100755
--- a/system/core/Hooks.php
+++ b/system/core/Hooks.php
@@ -91,16 +91,7 @@
 
 		// Grab the "hooks" definition file.
 		// If there are no hooks, we're done.
-
-		if (defined('ENVIRONMENT') AND is_file(APPPATH.'config/'.ENVIRONMENT.'/hooks.php'))
-		{
-			include(APPPATH.'config/'.ENVIRONMENT.'/hooks.php');
-		}
-		elseif (is_file(APPPATH.'config/hooks.php'))
-		{
-			include(APPPATH.'config/hooks.php');
-		}
-
+		load_environ_config('hooks');
 
 		if ( ! isset($hook) OR ! is_array($hook))
 		{
diff --git a/system/core/Loader.php b/system/core/Loader.php
index 4e14b54..12d07bb 100644
--- a/system/core/Loader.php
+++ b/system/core/Loader.php
@@ -1125,14 +1125,7 @@
 	 */
 	protected function _ci_autoloader()
 	{
-		if (defined('ENVIRONMENT') AND file_exists(APPPATH.'config/'.ENVIRONMENT.'/autoload.php'))
-		{
-			include(APPPATH.'config/'.ENVIRONMENT.'/autoload.php');
-		}
-		else
-		{
-			include(APPPATH.'config/autoload.php');
-		}
+		load_environ_config('autoload');
 
 		if ( ! isset($autoload))
 		{
diff --git a/system/core/Output.php b/system/core/Output.php
index 9727a18..4d1036c 100755
--- a/system/core/Output.php
+++ b/system/core/Output.php
@@ -106,15 +106,7 @@
 		$this->_zlib_oc = @ini_get('zlib.output_compression');
 
 		// Get mime types for later
-		if (defined('ENVIRONMENT') AND file_exists(APPPATH.'config/'.ENVIRONMENT.'/mimes.php'))
-		{
-			include APPPATH.'config/'.ENVIRONMENT.'/mimes.php';
-		}
-		else
-		{
-			include APPPATH.'config/mimes.php';
-		}
-
+		load_environ_config('mimes');
 
 		$this->mime_types = $mimes;
 
diff --git a/system/core/Router.php b/system/core/Router.php
index 748678d..5388a92 100755
--- a/system/core/Router.php
+++ b/system/core/Router.php
@@ -141,14 +141,7 @@
 		}
 
 		// Load the routes.php file.
-		if (defined('ENVIRONMENT') AND is_file(APPPATH.'config/'.ENVIRONMENT.'/routes.php'))
-		{
-			include(APPPATH.'config/'.ENVIRONMENT.'/routes.php');
-		}
-		elseif (is_file(APPPATH.'config/routes.php'))
-		{
-			include(APPPATH.'config/routes.php');
-		}
+		load_environ_config('routes');
 
 		$this->routes = ( ! isset($route) OR ! is_array($route)) ? array() : $route;
 		unset($route);
diff --git a/system/helpers/download_helper.php b/system/helpers/download_helper.php
index 5f5d1aa..3173c98 100644
--- a/system/helpers/download_helper.php
+++ b/system/helpers/download_helper.php
@@ -70,14 +70,7 @@
 		$extension = end($x);
 
 		// Load the mime types
-		if (defined('ENVIRONMENT') AND is_file(APPPATH.'config/'.ENVIRONMENT.'/mimes.php'))
-		{
-			include(APPPATH.'config/'.ENVIRONMENT.'/mimes.php');
-		}
-		elseif (is_file(APPPATH.'config/mimes.php'))
-		{
-			include(APPPATH.'config/mimes.php');
-		}
+		load_environ_config('mimes');
 
 		// Set a default mime if we can't find it
 		if ( ! isset($mimes[$extension]))
diff --git a/system/helpers/file_helper.php b/system/helpers/file_helper.php
index 5b50853..b4edcde 100644
--- a/system/helpers/file_helper.php
+++ b/system/helpers/file_helper.php
@@ -364,14 +364,7 @@
 
 		if ( ! is_array($mimes))
 		{
-			if (defined('ENVIRONMENT') AND is_file(APPPATH.'config/'.ENVIRONMENT.'/mimes.php'))
-			{
-				include(APPPATH.'config/'.ENVIRONMENT.'/mimes.php');
-			}
-			elseif (is_file(APPPATH.'config/mimes.php'))
-			{
-				include(APPPATH.'config/mimes.php');
-			}
+			load_environ_config('mimes');
 
 			if ( ! is_array($mimes))
 			{
diff --git a/system/helpers/html_helper.php b/system/helpers/html_helper.php
index b6bb402..fa805f1 100644
--- a/system/helpers/html_helper.php
+++ b/system/helpers/html_helper.php
@@ -275,14 +275,7 @@
 
 		if ( ! is_array($_doctypes))
 		{
-			if (defined('ENVIRONMENT') AND is_file(APPPATH.'config/'.ENVIRONMENT.'/doctypes.php'))
-			{
-				include(APPPATH.'config/'.ENVIRONMENT.'/doctypes.php');
-			}
-			elseif (is_file(APPPATH.'config/doctypes.php'))
-			{
-				include(APPPATH.'config/doctypes.php');
-			}
+			load_environ_config('doctypes');
 
 			if ( ! is_array($_doctypes))
 			{
diff --git a/system/helpers/smiley_helper.php b/system/helpers/smiley_helper.php
index 38e2965..e04d5d6 100644
--- a/system/helpers/smiley_helper.php
+++ b/system/helpers/smiley_helper.php
@@ -241,14 +241,7 @@
 {
 	function _get_smiley_array()
 	{
-		if (defined('ENVIRONMENT') AND file_exists(APPPATH.'config/'.ENVIRONMENT.'/smileys.php'))
-		{
-			include(APPPATH.'config/'.ENVIRONMENT.'/smileys.php');
-		}
-		elseif (file_exists(APPPATH.'config/smileys.php'))
-		{
-			include(APPPATH.'config/smileys.php');
-		}
+		load_environ_config('smileys');
 		
 		if (isset($smileys) AND is_array($smileys))
 		{
diff --git a/system/helpers/text_helper.php b/system/helpers/text_helper.php
index 38b46e2..7a4a689 100644
--- a/system/helpers/text_helper.php
+++ b/system/helpers/text_helper.php
@@ -378,14 +378,7 @@
 {
 	function convert_accented_characters($str)
 	{
-		if (defined('ENVIRONMENT') AND is_file(APPPATH.'config/'.ENVIRONMENT.'/foreign_chars.php'))
-		{
-			include(APPPATH.'config/'.ENVIRONMENT.'/foreign_chars.php');
-		}
-		elseif (is_file(APPPATH.'config/foreign_chars.php'))
-		{
-			include(APPPATH.'config/foreign_chars.php');
-		}
+		load_environ_config('foreign_chars');
 
 		if ( ! isset($foreign_characters))
 		{
diff --git a/system/libraries/Upload.php b/system/libraries/Upload.php
index 826bcce..5108afa 100644
--- a/system/libraries/Upload.php
+++ b/system/libraries/Upload.php
@@ -952,17 +952,12 @@
 	{
 		global $mimes;
 
-		if (count($this->mimes) == 0)
+		if (count($this->mimes) === 0)
 		{
-			if (defined('ENVIRONMENT') AND is_file(APPPATH.'config/'.ENVIRONMENT.'/mimes.php'))
-			{
-				include(APPPATH.'config/'.ENVIRONMENT.'/mimes.php');
-			}
-			elseif (is_file(APPPATH.'config/mimes.php'))
-			{
-				include(APPPATH.'config//mimes.php');
-			}
-			else
+			load_environ_config('mimes');
+
+			// Return FALSE if we still have no mimes after trying to load them up.
+			if (count($this->mimes) === 0)
 			{
 				return FALSE;
 			}
diff --git a/system/libraries/User_agent.php b/system/libraries/User_agent.php
index a007ace..4a29d7d 100644
--- a/system/libraries/User_agent.php
+++ b/system/libraries/User_agent.php
@@ -96,15 +96,10 @@
 	 */
 	private function _load_agent_file()
 	{
-		if (defined('ENVIRONMENT') AND is_file(APPPATH.'config/'.ENVIRONMENT.'/user_agents.php'))
-		{
-			include(APPPATH.'config/'.ENVIRONMENT.'/user_agents.php');
-		}
-		elseif (is_file(APPPATH.'config/user_agents.php'))
-		{
-			include(APPPATH.'config/user_agents.php');
-		}
-		else
+		load_environ_config('user_agents');
+
+		// Return FALSE if we still have no mimes after trying to load them up.
+		if (count($this->mimes) === 0)
 		{
 			return FALSE;
 		}