diff --git a/config/env.go b/config/env.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0204ab7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/env.go
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+package config
+
+import (
+	"github.com/joho/godotenv"
+	"os"
+)
+
+func GetEnvVar(key string) string {
+	if os.Getenv("ENVIRONMENT") == "DEV" {
+		err := godotenv.Load()
+		if err != nil {
+			// we're going to panic because without the env variables, our app couldn't run anyways
+			panic("Error loading environment variable")
+		}
+	}
+
+	return os.Getenv(key)
+}