diff --git a/code/game/atoms.dm b/code/game/atoms.dm
index b9f501a379..f7a68a47c9 100644
--- a/code/game/atoms.dm
+++ b/code/game/atoms.dm
@@ -38,8 +38,6 @@
 
 	//Detective Work, used for the duplicate data points kept in the scanners
 	var/list/original_atom
-	// Track if we are already had initialize() called to prevent double-initialization.
-	var/initialized = FALSE
 
 	/// Last name used to calculate a color for the chatmessage overlays
 	var/chat_color_name
diff --git a/code/game/objects/structures/window_spawner.dm b/code/game/objects/structures/window_spawner.dm
index dfeecb7be7..38d794a71f 100644
--- a/code/game/objects/structures/window_spawner.dm
+++ b/code/game/objects/structures/window_spawner.dm
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@
 	activated = 1
 	for(var/obj/effect/wingrille_spawn/other in neighbours)
 		if(!other.activated) other.activate()
-	if(initialized && !QDELETED(src))
+	if((atom_flags & ATOM_INITIALIZED) && !QDELETED(src))
 		qdel(src)
 
 /obj/effect/wingrille_spawn/proc/handle_window_spawn(var/obj/structure/window/W)
diff --git a/code/game/turfs/flooring/flooring_decals.dm b/code/game/turfs/flooring/flooring_decals.dm
index ed1842c690..02a7239014 100644
--- a/code/game/turfs/flooring/flooring_decals.dm
+++ b/code/game/turfs/flooring/flooring_decals.dm
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ var/global/list/floor_decals = list()
 // abstract handler that explicitly doesn't invoke any obj behavior.
 /obj/effect/floor_decal/Initialize(var/ml, var/newdir, var/newcolour)
 	SHOULD_CALL_PARENT(FALSE)
-	initialized = TRUE
+	atom_flags |= ATOM_INITIALIZED // this is a blight
 	supplied_dir = newdir
 	if(newcolour)
 		color = newcolour
diff --git a/code/game/turfs/unsimulated.dm b/code/game/turfs/unsimulated.dm
index 6d8cf0907e..8d3b32c714 100644
--- a/code/game/turfs/unsimulated.dm
+++ b/code/game/turfs/unsimulated.dm
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 
 /turf/unsimulated/Initialize(mapload)
 	if(skip_init)
-		initialized = TRUE
+		atom_flags |= ATOM_INITIALIZED // this is a blight
 		return INITIALIZE_HINT_NORMAL
 	. = ..()
 
diff --git a/code/modules/mining/mine_turfs.dm b/code/modules/mining/mine_turfs.dm
index 717874d836..a9f1046f3d 100644
--- a/code/modules/mining/mine_turfs.dm
+++ b/code/modules/mining/mine_turfs.dm
@@ -392,7 +392,7 @@ var/global/list/mining_overlay_cache = list()
 
 /turf/simulated/mineral/proc/UpdateMineral()
 	clear_ore_effects()
-	if(initialized && istype(mineral))
+	if((atom_flags & ATOM_INITIALIZED) && istype(mineral))
 		new /obj/effect/mineral(src, mineral)
 	update_icon()
 
diff --git a/code/unit_tests/subsystem_tests.dm b/code/unit_tests/subsystem_tests.dm
index 6e06a03e5b..7e0a7df2a3 100644
--- a/code/unit_tests/subsystem_tests.dm
+++ b/code/unit_tests/subsystem_tests.dm
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@
 	set background = TRUE // avoid infinite loop warning; SS will still wait for us.
 	var/fail = FALSE
 	for(var/atom/atom in world)
-		if(!QDELETED(atom) && !(atom.atom_flags & ATOM_INITIALIZED)) // Not ideal to skip over qdeleted atoms, but a lot of current code uses pre-init qdels
+		if(!(atom.atom_flags & ATOM_INITIALIZED) && !QDELETED(atom)) // Not ideal to skip over qdeleted atoms, but a lot of current code uses pre-init qdels
 			log_bad("Uninitialized atom: [atom.type] - [atom.get_log_info_line()]")
 			fail = TRUE
 	if(fail)