diff --git a/init.org b/init.org
index 25eaf35..205b1f8 100644
--- a/init.org
+++ b/init.org
@@ -3493,11 +3493,13 @@ But with =initials=, the desired completion is often buried in the results. That
 ** recentf
 #+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
 (use-package recentf
-  :init (recentf-mode 1)
+  :init
+  ;; default is to cleanup when `recentf-mode' is enabled, which we don't want
+  (setq recentf-auto-cleanup 'never)
+  (recentf-mode 1)
   :bind ("C-x C-r C-o" . recentf-open-files)
   :config
-  (setq recentf-auto-cleanup 'never
-        recentf-max-menu-items 500
+  (setq recentf-max-menu-items  500
         recentf-max-saved-items 1000
         recentf-save-file (locate-user-emacs-file "recentf")
         recentf-exclude '("\\.html\\(\\.orig\\)?$"
@@ -3506,9 +3508,10 @@ But with =initials=, the desired completion is often buried in the results. That
                           "\\.mp4$"
                           "\\.etc"
                           "\\.umstuff"))
-  ;; I'd rather run cleanup manually, if ever required; running this
-  ;; automatically is a recipe for periodically losing your recentf
-  ;; entries when your disk happens to be unmounted.
+  (advice-add 'recentf-save-list :before (lambda (&rest args) (async-backup recentf-save-file)))
+  ;; I'd rather run cleanup manually, if ever required; running
+  ;; cleanup automatically is a recipe for periodically losing your
+  ;; recentf entries when your disk happens to be unmounted.
   ;; :hook (kill-emacs . recentf-cleanup)
   )
 #+END_SRC