Art vs. Usefulness

So I am been struggling with my creativity as of late. I think I have finally figured out where the problem has come from.
I am always trying to make my art "useful". I think this comes from my daily dilemma with my creative side and the organizer in me.
I have always made items that have a purpose. I make baskets, and they have tons of uses. I scrapbook, I have over 100 now and they are a purposeful place to look at our photos, and store them. I make collages that are letters and notes, I make journals, for others to write in. I have recently made "real old fashioned" mail. This is to make people day brighter and to encourage others to write again. So when I sit down to just play with art, it is very difficult to justify the time that I am spending, not producing a useful item.
I am not an artist by any stretch of the imagination, therefore I have not allowed my work to really be considered in my mind as real. I bought a book this week on journaling, and in it , it tells the reader to let go of the inner critic. I criticize all of my work and figure that I should be spending my time in a much more useful aspect. After reading this book, I am now going to try to silence my inner critic. I feel better when I am making things and I am able to relax. I am going to try and silence my inner critic this week. I am going to make ART that is not useful, in the usual sense of the word, but useful in that I am calmer, happier and more content after I have let out some of my creative energy. So here is to an art filled day.