diff --git a/core/module.py b/core/module.py
index 07403ab..618cd6a 100644
--- a/core/module.py
+++ b/core/module.py
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ def load(module_name, config=core.config.Config([]), theme=None):
             )
             return getattr(mod, "Module")(config, theme)
         except ImportError as e:
+            log.debug("failed to import {}: {}".format(module_name, e))
             error = e
     log.fatal("failed to import {}: {}".format(module_name, error))
     return Error(config=config, module=module_name, error=error)
@@ -76,11 +77,12 @@ class Module(core.input.Object):
             self.__widgets = [module.widget()]
             self.update = module.update
 
-    def widgets(self, widgets=None):
-        if widgets:
-            self.__widgets = widgets
+    def widgets(self):
         return self.__widgets
 
+    def clear_widgets(self):
+        del self.__widgets[:]
+
     def add_widget(self, full_text="", name=None):
         widget = core.widget.Widget(full_text=full_text, name=name, module=self)
         self.widgets().append(widget)
diff --git a/docs/development/module.rst b/docs/development/module.rst
index 816d8bf..6c1a6b5 100644
--- a/docs/development/module.rst
+++ b/docs/development/module.rst
@@ -72,7 +72,8 @@ Otherwise, you have a number of ways to handle widgets: - During the
 ``super().init__(...)`` inside the module’s constructor, you can specify
 a **list** of widgets, and those will comprise the widgets (in ordered
 fashion) - During runtime, you can set a new list of widgets by using
-the ``self.widgets(<new list>)`` method of the module
+the ``self.add_widget()`` method of the module to add new widgets and
+``self.clear_widgets()`` method to remove all widgets.
 
 Adding widgets at runtime
 -------------------------
diff --git a/docs/other/NOTES.md b/docs/other/NOTES.md
index 81c6bf4..74cb652 100644
--- a/docs/other/NOTES.md
+++ b/docs/other/NOTES.md
@@ -16,10 +16,8 @@
 ## TODO
 - themes: use colors to improve theme readability
 - convert some stuff to simple attributes to reduce LOCs
-- use add_widget() instead of core.widget.Widget()
 - use widget index for bumblebee-ctl as alternative (??)
 
 # documentation
 Add info about error widget and events for error logging
-- add module contributor doc
 - which location APIs are used?
diff --git a/modules/contrib/battery.py b/modules/contrib/battery.py
index 7843684..2428a25 100644
--- a/modules/contrib/battery.py
+++ b/modules/contrib/battery.py
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ except ImportError:
     log.warning('unable to import module "power": Time estimates will not be available')
 
 import core.module
-import core.widget
 import core.input
 
 import util.format
@@ -105,8 +104,7 @@ class BatteryManager(object):
 
 class Module(core.module.Module):
     def __init__(self, config, theme):
-        widgets = []
-        super().__init__(config, theme, widgets)
+        super().__init__(config, theme, [])
 
         self.__manager = BatteryManager()
 
@@ -123,17 +121,15 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
         )
 
         if util.format.asbool(self.parameter("compact-devices", False)):
-            widget = core.widget.Widget(
-                full_text=self.capacity, name="all-batteries", module=self
+            widget = self.add_widget(
+                full_text=self.capacity, name="all-batteries"
             )
-            widgets.append(widget)
         else:
             for battery in self._batteries:
                 log.debug("adding new widget for {}".format(battery))
-                widget = core.widget.Widget(
-                    full_text=self.capacity, name=battery, module=self
+                widget = self.add_widget(
+                    full_text=self.capacity, name=battery
                 )
-                widgets.append(widget)
         for w in self.widgets():
             if util.format.asbool(self.parameter("decorate", True)) == False:
                 widget.set("theme.exclude", "suffix")
diff --git a/modules/contrib/cmus.py b/modules/contrib/cmus.py
index 093c367..c79e308 100644
--- a/modules/contrib/cmus.py
+++ b/modules/contrib/cmus.py
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@ import os
 import string
 
 import core.module
-import core.widget
 import core.input
 import core.decorators
 
@@ -51,11 +50,9 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
         self._tags = defaultdict(lambda: "")
 
         # Create widgets
-        widget_list = []
         widget_map = {}
         for widget_name in self._layout.split():
-            widget = core.widget.Widget(name=widget_name, module=self)
-            widget_list.append(widget)
+            widget = self.add_widget(name=widget_name)
             self._cmd = "cmus-remote"
             if self._server is not None:
                 self._cmd = "{cmd} --server {server}".format(
@@ -98,7 +95,6 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
                         widget_name=widget_name
                     )
                 )
-        self.widgets(widget_list)
 
         # Register input callbacks
         for widget, callback_options in widget_map.items():
diff --git a/modules/contrib/cpu2.py b/modules/contrib/cpu2.py
index e03a140..1512681 100644
--- a/modules/contrib/cpu2.py
+++ b/modules/contrib/cpu2.py
@@ -37,7 +37,6 @@ contributed by `somospocos <https://github.com/somospocos>`_ - many thanks!
 import psutil
 
 import core.module
-import core.widget
 
 import util.cli
 import util.graph
@@ -53,27 +52,24 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
         )
         self.__widget_names = self.__layout.split()
         self.__colored = util.format.asbool(self.parameter("colored", False))
-        widget_list = []
         for widget_name in self.__widget_names:
             if widget_name == "cpu2.maxfreq":
-                widget = core.widget.Widget(name=widget_name, full_text=self.maxfreq)
+                widget = self.add_widget(name=widget_name, full_text=self.maxfreq)
                 widget.set("type", "freq")
             elif widget_name == "cpu2.cpuload":
-                widget = core.widget.Widget(name=widget_name, full_text=self.cpuload)
+                widget = self.add_widget(name=widget_name, full_text=self.cpuload)
                 widget.set("type", "load")
             elif widget_name == "cpu2.coresload":
-                widget = core.widget.Widget(name=widget_name, full_text=self.coresload)
+                widget = self.add_widget(name=widget_name, full_text=self.coresload)
                 widget.set("type", "loads")
             elif widget_name == "cpu2.temp":
-                widget = core.widget.Widget(name=widget_name, full_text=self.temp)
+                widget = self.add_widget(name=widget_name, full_text=self.temp)
                 widget.set("type", "temp")
             elif widget_name == "cpu2.fanspeed":
-                widget = core.widget.Widget(name=widget_name, full_text=self.fanspeed)
+                widget = self.add_widget(name=widget_name, full_text=self.fanspeed)
                 widget.set("type", "fan")
             if self.__colored:
                 widget.set("pango", True)
-            widget_list.append(widget)
-        self.widgets(widget_list)
         self.__temp_pattern = self.parameter("temp_pattern")
         if self.__temp_pattern is None:
             self.__temp = "n/a"
diff --git a/modules/contrib/indicator.py b/modules/contrib/indicator.py
index 25fc6d7..6b01c41 100644
--- a/modules/contrib/indicator.py
+++ b/modules/contrib/indicator.py
@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@ contributed by `freed00m <https://github.com/freed00m>`_ - many thanks!
 """
 
 import core.module
-import core.widget
 
 import util.cli
 import util.format
@@ -42,8 +41,7 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
         for indicator in self.__include:
             widget = self.widget(indicator)
             if not widget:
-                widget = core.widget.Widget(name=indicator, module=self)
-                self.widgets().append(widget)
+                widget = self.add_widget(name=indicator, full_text=indicator)
 
             widget.set(
                 "status",
@@ -51,7 +49,6 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
                 if "{}:on".format(indicator.lower()) in status_line.lower()
                 else False,
             )
-            widget.full_text(indicator)
 
     def state(self, widget):
         states = []
diff --git a/modules/contrib/mpd.py b/modules/contrib/mpd.py
index 0b335ec..3efffff 100644
--- a/modules/contrib/mpd.py
+++ b/modules/contrib/mpd.py
@@ -53,7 +53,6 @@ import string
 import os
 
 import core.module
-import core.widget
 import core.input
 import core.decorators
 
@@ -80,11 +79,9 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
             self._hostcmd = " -h " + self.parameter("host")
 
         # Create widgets
-        widget_list = []
         widget_map = {}
         for widget_name in self._layout.split():
-            widget = core.widget.Widget(name=widget_name, module=self)
-            widget_list.append(widget)
+            widget = self.add_widget(name=widget_name)
 
             if widget_name == "mpd.prev":
                 widget_map[widget] = {
@@ -118,7 +115,6 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
                         widget_name=widget_name
                     )
                 )
-        self.widgets(widget_list)
 
         # Register input callbacks
         for widget, callback_options in widget_map.items():
diff --git a/modules/contrib/rotation.py b/modules/contrib/rotation.py
index dc7f317..13f656e 100644
--- a/modules/contrib/rotation.py
+++ b/modules/contrib/rotation.py
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ Requires the following executable:
 """
 
 import core.module
-import core.widget
 import core.input
 
 import util.cli
@@ -34,7 +33,7 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
 
             widget = self.widget(display)
             if not widget:
-                widget = core.widget.Widget(full_text=display, name=display)
+                widget = self.add_widget(full_text=display, name=display)
                 core.input.register(
                     widget, button=core.input.LEFT_MOUSE, cmd=self.__toggle
                 )
diff --git a/modules/contrib/shortcut.py b/modules/contrib/shortcut.py
index 1ffe9d0..4ea0a7c 100644
--- a/modules/contrib/shortcut.py
+++ b/modules/contrib/shortcut.py
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ LINK = "https://github.com/tobi-wan-kenobi/bumblebee-status/wiki"
 LABEL = "Click me"
 
 import core.module
-import core.widget
 import core.input
 import core.decorators
 
@@ -45,8 +44,6 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
     def update_widgets(self):
         """ Creates a set of widget per user define shortcut."""
 
-        widgets = self.widgets()
-
         cmds = self.__cmds.split(self.__delim)
         labels = self.__labels.split(self.__delim)
 
@@ -65,10 +62,8 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
             cmd = cmds[idx]
             label = labels[idx]
 
-            widget = core.widget.Widget(full_text=label)
+            widget = self.add_widget(full_text=label)
             core.input.register(widget, button=core.input.LEFT_MOUSE, cmd=cmd)
 
-            widgets.append(widget)
-
 
 # vim: tabstop=8 expandtab shiftwidth=4 softtabstop=4
diff --git a/modules/contrib/smartstatus.py b/modules/contrib/smartstatus.py
index 0d65422..2b886e3 100644
--- a/modules/contrib/smartstatus.py
+++ b/modules/contrib/smartstatus.py
@@ -16,7 +16,6 @@ import os
 import shutil
 
 import core.module
-import core.widget
 import core.decorators
 
 import util.cli
@@ -32,26 +31,22 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
         self.display = self.parameter("display", "combined")
         self.drives = self.parameter("drives", "sda")
         self.show_names = util.format.asbool(self.parameter("show_names", True))
-        self.widgets(self.create_widgets())
+        self.create_widgets()
 
     def create_widgets(self):
-        widgets = []
         if self.display == "combined":
-            widget = core.widget.Widget(module=self)
+            widget = self.add_widget()
             widget.set("device", "combined")
             widget.set("assessment", self.combined())
             self.output(widget)
-            widgets.append(widget)
         else:
             for device in self.devices:
                 if self.display == "singles" and device not in self.drives:
                     continue
-                widget = core.widget.Widget(module=self)
+                widget = self.add_widget()
                 widget.set("device", device)
                 widget.set("assessment", self.smart(device))
                 self.output(widget)
-                widgets.append(widget)
-        return widgets
 
     def update(self):
         for widget in self.widgets():
diff --git a/modules/contrib/title.py b/modules/contrib/title.py
index 30a3be6..33af47a 100644
--- a/modules/contrib/title.py
+++ b/modules/contrib/title.py
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ except ImportError:
 no_title = "n/a"
 
 import core.module
-import core.widget
 import core.decorators
 
 import util.format
@@ -41,14 +40,10 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
         self.__title = ""
 
         # set output of the module
-        self.widgets(
-            [
-                core.widget.Widget(
-                    full_text=self.__scrolling_focused_title
-                    if self.__scroll
-                    else self.__focused_title
-                )
-            ]
+        self.add_widget(
+            full_text=self.__scrolling_focused_title
+            if self.__scroll
+            else self.__focused_title
         )
 
         # create a connection with i3ipc
diff --git a/modules/contrib/traffic.py b/modules/contrib/traffic.py
index 63e327b..42199c6 100644
--- a/modules/contrib/traffic.py
+++ b/modules/contrib/traffic.py
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ import psutil
 import netifaces
 
 import core.module
-import core.widget
 
 import util.format
 import util.graph
@@ -29,8 +28,7 @@ import util.graph
 
 class Module(core.module.Module):
     def __init__(self, config, theme):
-        widgets = []
-        super().__init__(config, theme, widgets)
+        super().__init__(config, theme, [])
 
         self._exclude = tuple(
             filter(
@@ -60,7 +58,7 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
         if self._graphlen > 0:
             self._graphdata = {}
         self._first_run = True
-        self._update_widgets(widgets)
+        self._update_widgets()
 
     def state(self, widget):
         if "traffic.rx" in widget.name:
@@ -70,12 +68,10 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
         return self._status
 
     def update(self):
-        self._update_widgets(self.widgets())
+        self._update_widgets()
 
-    def create_widget(self, widgets, name, txt=None, attributes={}):
-        widget = core.widget.Widget(name=name, module=self)
-        widget.full_text(txt)
-        widgets.append(widget)
+    def create_widget(self, name, txt=None, attributes={}):
+        widget = self.add_widget(name=name, full_text=txt)
 
         for key in attributes:
             widget.set(key, attributes[key])
@@ -114,12 +110,12 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
             minwidth_str += "KiB/s"
         return minwidth_str
 
-    def _update_widgets(self, widgets):
+    def _update_widgets(self):
         interfaces = [
             i for i in netifaces.interfaces() if not i.startswith(self._exclude)
         ]
 
-        del widgets[:]
+        self.clear_widgets()
 
         counters = psutil.net_io_counters(pernic=True)
         now = time.time()
@@ -158,12 +154,11 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
             name = "traffic-{}".format(interface)
 
             if self._showname:
-                self.create_widget(widgets, name, interface)
+                self.create_widget(name, interface)
 
             for direction in ["rx", "tx"]:
                 name = "traffic.{}-{}".format(direction, interface)
                 widget = self.create_widget(
-                    widgets,
                     name,
                     attributes={"theme.minwidth": self.get_minwidth_str()},
                 )
diff --git a/modules/contrib/zpool.py b/modules/contrib/zpool.py
index 504a027..8104819 100644
--- a/modules/contrib/zpool.py
+++ b/modules/contrib/zpool.py
@@ -33,7 +33,6 @@ from pkg_resources import parse_version
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 import core.module
-import core.widget
 
 import util.cli
 import util.format
@@ -58,7 +57,7 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
         self._warnfree = int(self.parameter("warnfree", default=10))
 
     def update(self):
-        widgets = self.widgets()
+        self.clear_widgets()
         zfs_version_path = "/sys/module/zfs/version"
         # zpool list -H: List all zpools, use script mode (no headers and tabs as separators).
         try:
@@ -77,9 +76,6 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
             ("sudo " if self._usesudo else "") + "zpool list -H"
         ).split("\n")
 
-        for widget in widgets:
-            widget.set("visited", False)
-
         for raw_zpool in raw_zpools:
             try:
                 # Ignored fields (assigned to _) are 'expandsz' and 'altroot', also 'ckpoint' in ZFS 0.8.0+
@@ -136,10 +132,9 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
 
             widget = self.widget(name)
             if not widget:
-                widget = core.widget.Widget(name=name)
+                widget = self.add_widget(name=name)
                 widget.set("last_iostat", [0, 0, 0, 0])
                 widget.set("last_timestamp", 0)
-                widgets.append(widget)
 
             delta_iostat = [b - a for a, b in zip(iostat, widget.get("last_iostat"))]
             widget.set("last_iostat", iostat)
@@ -183,9 +178,8 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
                 widget_w = self.widget(wname)
                 widget_r = self.widget(rname)
                 if not widget_w or not widget_r:
-                    widget_r = core.widget.Widget(name=rname)
-                    widget_w = core.widget.Widget(name=wname)
-                    widgets.extend([widget_r, widget_w])
+                    widget_r = self.add_widget(name=rname)
+                    widget_w = self.add_widget(name=wname)
                 for w in [widget_r, widget_w]:
                     w.set(
                         "theme.minwidth",
@@ -193,7 +187,6 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
                             ops=9999, band=util.format.bytefmt(999.99 * (1024 ** 2))
                         ),
                     )
-                    w.set("visited", True)
                 widget_w.full_text(
                     self._ioformat.format(
                         ops=round(writes), band=util.format.bytefmt(nwritten)
@@ -205,10 +198,6 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
                     )
                 )
 
-        for widget in widgets:
-            if widget.get("visited") is False:
-                widgets.remove(widget)
-        self.widgets(widgets)
 
     def state(self, widget):
         if widget.name.endswith("__read"):
diff --git a/modules/core/git.py b/modules/core/git.py
index e9966f6..c38f4a8 100644
--- a/modules/core/git.py
+++ b/modules/core/git.py
@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@ import os
 import pygit2
 
 import core.module
-import core.widget
 
 import util.cli
 
@@ -28,15 +27,13 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
 
     def update(self):
         state = {}
-        new_widgets = []
+        self.clear_widgets()
         try:
             directory = util.cli.execute("xcwd").strip()
             directory = self.__get_git_root(directory)
             repo = pygit2.Repository(directory)
 
-            new_widgets.append(
-                core.widget.Widget(name="git.main", full_text=repo.head.shorthand)
-            )
+            self.add_widget(name="git.main", full_text=repo.head.shorthand)
 
             for filepath, flags in repo.status().items():
                 if (
@@ -56,14 +53,12 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
                     state["modified"] = True
             self.__error = False
             if "new" in state:
-                new_widgets.append(core.widget.Widget(name="git.new"))
+                self.add_widget(name="git.new")
             if "modified" in state:
-                new_widgets.append(core.widget.Widget(name="git.modified"))
+                self.add_widget(name="git.modified")
             if "deleted" in state:
-                new_widgets.append(core.widget.Widget(name="git.deleted"))
+                self.add_widget(name="git.deleted")
 
-            self.widgets().clear()
-            self.widget(new_widgets)
 
         except Exception as e:
             self.__error = True
diff --git a/modules/core/nic.py b/modules/core/nic.py
index c92b7d3..a5f26b0 100644
--- a/modules/core/nic.py
+++ b/modules/core/nic.py
@@ -16,7 +16,6 @@ import shutil
 import netifaces
 import subprocess
 
-import core.widget
 import core.module
 import core.decorators
 import util.cli
@@ -87,14 +86,12 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
         return retval
 
     def _update_widgets(self, widgets):
+        self.clear_widgets()
         interfaces = [
             i for i in netifaces.interfaces() if not i.startswith(self._exclude)
         ]
         interfaces.extend([i for i in netifaces.interfaces() if i in self._include])
 
-        for widget in widgets:
-            widget.set("visited", False)
-
         for intf in interfaces:
             addr = []
             state = "down"
@@ -112,8 +109,7 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
 
             widget = self.widget(intf)
             if not widget:
-                widget = core.widget.Widget(name=intf, module=self)
-                widgets.append(widget)
+                widget = self.add_widget(name=intf)
             # join/split is used to get rid of multiple whitespaces (in case SSID is not available, for instance
             widget.full_text(
                 " ".join(
@@ -127,11 +123,6 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
             )
             widget.set("intf", intf)
             widget.set("state", state)
-            widget.set("visited", True)
-
-        for widget in widgets:
-            if widget.get("visited") is False:
-                widgets.remove(widget)
 
     def get_ssid(self, intf):
         if self._iswlan(intf) and self.iwgetid:
diff --git a/modules/core/xrandr.py b/modules/core/xrandr.py
index 8ca0167..7337fe5 100644
--- a/modules/core/xrandr.py
+++ b/modules/core/xrandr.py
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ import re
 import sys
 
 import core.module
-import core.widget
 import core.input
 import core.decorators
 
@@ -52,7 +51,7 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
         self._needs_update = True
 
     def update(self):
-        new_widgets = []
+        self.clear_widgets()
 
         if self._autoupdate == False and self._needs_update == False:
             return
@@ -67,22 +66,18 @@ class Module(core.module.Module):
 
             widget = self.widget(display)
             if not widget:
-                widget = core.widget.Widget(
-                    full_text=display, name=display, module=self
+                widget = self.add_widget(
+                    full_text=display, name=display
                 )
                 core.input.register(widget, button=1, cmd=self._toggle)
                 core.input.register(widget, button=3, cmd=self._toggle)
-            new_widgets.append(widget)
             widget.set("state", "on" if m else "off")
             widget.set("pos", int(m.group(1)) if m else sys.maxsize)
 
-        self.widgets(new_widgets)
-
         if self._autoupdate == False:
-            widget = core.widget.Widget(full_text="", module=self)
+            widget = self.add_widget(full_text="")
             widget.set("state", "refresh")
             core.input.register(widget, button=1, cmd=self._refresh)
-            self.widgets().append(widget)
 
     def state(self, widget):
         return widget.get("state", "off")