Quiz: Are You a Finisher or an Opener? | Gretchen Rubin [Skip to content](#content) [ ![](https://staging.gretchenrubin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/gretchenrubin-logo-768x344.png) ](https://staging.gretchenrubin.com) - July 9, 2013 - [Organization](https://staging.gretchenrubin.com/tag/organization/) # Quiz: Are You a Finisher or an Opener? ![The Happiness Project Blog Logo](https://staging.gretchenrubin.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/03/GR_THP_Blog_2006-2014_header_image.png) I love dividing people into categories. [**Under-buyers and over-buyers**](http://www.staging.gretchenrubin.com/happiness_project/2009/04/quiz-are-you-an-overbuyer-or-an-underbuyer/). [**Eeyores and Tiggers**](http://www.staging.gretchenrubin.com/happiness_project/2010/10/quiz-are-you-a-tigger-or-an-eeyore-plus-a-few-points-to-consider/). [**Abstainers and Moderators**](http://www.staging.gretchenrubin.com/happiness_project/2012/10/back-by-popular-demand-are-you-an-abstainer-or-a-moderator/). [**Upholders, Questioners, Rebels, and Obligers**](http://www.staging.gretchenrubin.com/fourtendencies/). A thoughtful reader and fellow lover of taxonomies, Dianne Volek, suggested a new system of categories. Let’s call the two types of people “**Finishers and Openers**.” Do you get more satisfaction from… - **Throwing away a container or bottle after using the very last drop,** or - **Opening a fresh new container** I’m a Finisher; my husband is an Opener. I love to extract the last tiny bit out of a tube of toothpaste, and he loves opening the new tube. True, I do love that first squeeze, and the first dip into a new jar of peanut butter, but I also enjoy using the very last bit of the old stuff. I feel a real sense of accomplishment when I use the last egg in a carton (as I did this morning). Perhaps this explains the weird satisfaction I feel when something breaks or is worn out. Why do I like to see the worn spots on our sofa? Why do I like getting a hole in a pair of socks? Perhaps it’s my Finisher nature, delighting in the finish. When I visited my sister a few weeks ago, I noticed that she had about twenty bottles of hair products in her shower. I suspect she’s an Opener. I wonder if this is related to the distinction between [**Simplicity Lovers and Abundance Lovers.**](http://www.staging.gretchenrubin.com/happiness_project/2013/05/28636/) **Do these categories ring true for you? Are you a Finisher or an Opener?** *From 2006 through 2014, as she wrote* The Happiness Project *and* Happier at Home*, Gretchen chronicled her thoughts, observations, and discoveries on* The Happiness Project Blog. #### YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE ![a yellow notepad on a keyboard](https://staging.gretchenrubin.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/gpplhq-fyva-768x512.jpg) [What is Obliger-rebellion? 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