Public Storage Shareholders' Equity (Narrative) (Details) (USD $)	2 Months Ended	6 Months Ended	2 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended	0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended	2 Months Ended	6 Months Ended
	May 31, 2011	Jun. 30, 2011	May 31, 2011 Series Q Preferred Stock [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 Series Q Preferred Stock [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 Series Q Preferred Stock [Member]	Apr. 13, 2010 Series O Preferred Stock [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 Series O Preferred Stock [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 Series O Preferred Stock [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 Series I Preferred Stock [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 Series I Preferred Stock [Member]
Number of quarterly dividends in arrearage before preferred shareholders can elect additional board members		6
Number of additional board members the preferred shareholders can elect in the case of an excess arrearage of quarterly dividends		2
Preferred stock, amount of preferred dividends in arrears		$ 0
Redeemable preferred stock redemption price per share		$ 25.00
Preferred shares per depositary share				0.001			0.001
Issuance costs	11,336,000
Income reclassified from common to preferred		5,063,000							15,899,000
Dividend Rate %			6.50%		6.50%	6.875%		6.875%		7.25%
Proceeds from issuance of preferred stock			375,000,000			145,000,000
Number of stock issued in sale			15,000,000			5,800,000
Redemption of cumulative preferred shares									$ 517,500,000	$ 517,500,000