diff --git a/src/dbus.c b/src/dbus.c
index fe03902..79af31c 100644
--- a/src/dbus.c
+++ b/src/dbus.c
@@ -264,7 +264,8 @@ static void on_notify(GDBusConnection *connection,
         n->color_strings[ColFG] = fgcolor;
         n->color_strings[ColBG] = bgcolor;
 
-        int id = notification_init(n, replaces_id);
+        notification_init(n);
+        int id = queues_notification_insert(n, replaces_id);
         wake_up();
 
         GVariant *reply = g_variant_new("(u)", id);
diff --git a/src/dunst.c b/src/dunst.c
index 16867dc..6ed9eff 100644
--- a/src/dunst.c
+++ b/src/dunst.c
@@ -261,7 +261,9 @@ int dunst_main(int argc, char *argv[])
                 n->timeout = 10 * G_USEC_PER_SEC;
                 n->markup = MARKUP_NO;
                 n->urgency = LOW;
-                notification_init(n, 0);
+                notification_init(n);
+                queues_notification_insert(n, 0);
+                // we do not call wakeup now, wake_up does not work here yet
         }
 
         mainloop = g_main_loop_new(NULL, FALSE);
diff --git a/src/notification.c b/src/notification.c
index e3c0411..0703377 100644
--- a/src/notification.c
+++ b/src/notification.c
@@ -23,7 +23,6 @@
 #include "utils.h"
 #include "x11/x.h"
 
-int next_notification_id = 1;
 
 /*
  * print a human readable representation
@@ -280,28 +279,28 @@ void notification_init_defaults(notification *n)
 }
 
 /*
- * Initialize the given notification and add it to
- * the queue. Replace notification with id if id > 0.
+ * Initialize the given notification
  *
  * n should be a pointer to a notification allocated with
  * notification_create, it is undefined behaviour to pass a notification
  * allocated some other way.
  */
-int notification_init(notification *n, int id)
+void notification_init(notification *n)
 {
         assert(n != NULL);
 
         //Prevent undefined behaviour by initialising required fields
         notification_init_defaults(n);
 
+        // TODO: this does not belong into notification_init
         if (strcmp("DUNST_COMMAND_PAUSE", n->summary) == 0) {
                 pause_display = true;
-                return 0;
+                return;
         }
 
         if (strcmp("DUNST_COMMAND_RESUME", n->summary) == 0) {
                 pause_display = false;
-                return 0;
+                return;
         }
 
         n->script = NULL;
@@ -423,65 +422,8 @@ int notification_init(notification *n, int id)
                 n->msg = buffer;
         }
 
-        if (id == 0) {
-                n->id = ++next_notification_id;
-        } else {
-                n->id = id;
-        }
-
         n->dup_count = 0;
 
-        /* TODO: move this to queue.c */
-        /* check if n is a duplicate */
-        if (settings.stack_duplicates) {
-                for (GList *iter = g_queue_peek_head_link(queue); iter;
-                     iter = iter->next) {
-                        notification *orig = iter->data;
-                        if (notification_is_duplicate(orig, n)) {
-                                /* If the progress differs this was probably intended to replace the notification
-                                 * but notify-send was used. So don't increment dup_count in this case
-                                 */
-                                if (orig->progress == n->progress) {
-                                        orig->dup_count++;
-                                } else {
-                                        orig->progress = n->progress;
-                                }
-                                /* notifications that differ only in progress hints should be expected equal,
-                                 * but we want the latest message, with the latest hint value
-                                 */
-                                g_free(orig->msg);
-                                orig->msg = g_strdup(n->msg);
-                                notification_free(n);
-                                wake_up();
-                                return orig->id;
-                        }
-                }
-
-                for (GList *iter = g_queue_peek_head_link(displayed); iter;
-                     iter = iter->next) {
-                        notification *orig = iter->data;
-                        if (notification_is_duplicate(orig, n)) {
-                                /* notifications that differ only in progress hints should be expected equal,
-                                 * but we want the latest message, with the latest hint value
-                                 */
-                                g_free(orig->msg);
-                                orig->msg = g_strdup(n->msg);
-                                /* If the progress differs this was probably intended to replace the notification
-                                 * but notify-send was used. So don't increment dup_count in this case
-                                 */
-                                if (orig->progress == n->progress) {
-                                        orig->dup_count++;
-                                } else {
-                                        orig->progress = n->progress;
-                                }
-                                orig->start = g_get_monotonic_time();
-                                notification_free(n);
-                                wake_up();
-                                return orig->id;
-                        }
-                }
-        }
-
         /* urgency > CRIT -> array out of range */
         n->urgency = n->urgency > CRIT ? CRIT : n->urgency;
 
@@ -507,15 +449,13 @@ int notification_init(notification *n, int id)
 
         n->first_render = true;
 
+        /* TODO: this should not be part of notification_init */
         if (strlen(n->msg) == 0) {
                 notification_close(n, 2);
                 if (settings.always_run_script) {
                         notification_run_script(n);
                 }
                 printf("skipping notification: %s %s\n", n->body, n->summary);
-        } else {
-                if (id == 0 || !notification_replace_by_id(n))
-                        g_queue_insert_sorted(queue, n, notification_cmp_data, NULL);
         }
 
         char *tmp = g_strconcat(n->summary, " ", n->body, NULL);
@@ -540,11 +480,6 @@ int notification_init(notification *n, int id)
         }
 
         g_free(tmp);
-
-        if (settings.print_notifications)
-                notification_print(n);
-
-        return n->id;
 }
 
 void notification_update_text_to_render(notification *n)
diff --git a/src/notification.h b/src/notification.h
index d56ef90..e5250c1 100644
--- a/src/notification.h
+++ b/src/notification.h
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ typedef struct _notification {
 } notification;
 
 notification *notification_create(void);
-int notification_init(notification *n, int id);
+void notification_init(notification *n);
 void notification_free(notification *n);
 int notification_cmp(const void *a, const void *b);
 int notification_cmp_data(const void *a, const void *b, void *data);
diff --git a/src/queues.c b/src/queues.c
index 41bc922..30b727d 100644
--- a/src/queues.c
+++ b/src/queues.c
@@ -15,6 +15,9 @@ GQueue *displayed = NULL; /* currently displayed notifications */
 GQueue *history   = NULL; /* history of displayed notifications */
 
 unsigned int displayed_limit = 0;
+int next_notification_id = 1;
+
+static int queues_stack_duplicate(notification *n);
 
 void queues_init(void)
 {
@@ -28,6 +31,84 @@ void queues_displayed_limit(unsigned int limit)
         displayed_limit = limit;
 }
 
+int queues_notification_insert(notification *n, int replaces_id)
+{
+        if (replaces_id == 0) {
+
+                n->id = ++next_notification_id;
+
+                if (settings.stack_duplicates) {
+                        int stacked = queues_stack_duplicate(n);
+                        if (stacked > 0) {
+                                // notification got stacked
+                                return stacked;
+                        }
+                }
+
+                g_queue_insert_sorted(queue, n, notification_cmp_data, NULL);
+
+        } else {
+                n->id = replaces_id;
+                if (!notification_replace_by_id(n))
+                        g_queue_insert_sorted(queue, n, notification_cmp_data, NULL);
+        }
+
+        if (settings.print_notifications)
+                notification_print(n);
+
+        return n->id;
+}
+
+/*
+ * Replaces duplicate notification and stacks it
+ *
+ * Returns the notification id of the stacked notification
+ * Returns -1 if not notification could be stacked
+ */
+static int queues_stack_duplicate(notification *n)
+{
+        for (GList *iter = g_queue_peek_head_link(displayed); iter;
+             iter = iter->next) {
+                notification *orig = iter->data;
+                if (notification_is_duplicate(orig, n)) {
+                        /* If the progress differs, probably notify-send was used to update the notification
+                         * So only count it as a duplicate, if the progress was not the same.
+                         * */
+                        if (orig->progress == n->progress) {
+                                orig->dup_count++;
+                        } else {
+                                orig->progress = n->progress;
+                        }
+                        orig->start = g_get_monotonic_time();
+                        g_free(orig->msg);
+                        orig->msg = g_strdup(n->msg);
+                        notification_free(n);
+                        return orig->id;
+                }
+        }
+
+        for (GList *iter = g_queue_peek_head_link(queue); iter;
+             iter = iter->next) {
+                notification *orig = iter->data;
+                if (notification_is_duplicate(orig, n)) {
+                        /* If the progress differs, probably notify-send was used to update the notification
+                         * So only count it as a duplicate, if the progress was not the same.
+                         * */
+                        if (orig->progress == n->progress) {
+                                orig->dup_count++;
+                        } else {
+                                orig->progress = n->progress;
+                        }
+                        g_free(orig->msg);
+                        orig->msg = g_strdup(n->msg);
+                        notification_free(n);
+                        return orig->id;
+                }
+        }
+
+        return -1;
+}
+
 bool notification_replace_by_id(notification *new)
 {
 
diff --git a/src/queues.h b/src/queues.h
index 7b53c58..f6517e8 100644
--- a/src/queues.h
+++ b/src/queues.h
@@ -21,6 +21,17 @@ void queues_init(void);
  */
 void queues_displayed_limit(unsigned int limit);
 
+/*
+ * Insert a fully initialized notification into queues
+ * Respects stack_duplicates, and notification replacement
+ *
+ * If replaces_id != 0, n replaces notification with id replaces_id
+ * If replaces_id == 0, n gets occupies a new position
+ *
+ * Returns the assigned notification id
+ */
+int queues_notification_insert(notification *n, int replaces_id);
+
 /*
  * Replace the notification which matches the id field of
  * the new notification. The given notification is inserted