Patching and Plastering - SMOOTHING OUT TEXTURED CEILING

I just purchased my first home. It was everyting I wanted, however, the walls and ceilings in the house have textured paint, plaster, and popcorn on them. How can I remove these items? Will it be easiest to sand and scrape?

I had the same stuff in my house. The easiest way I found to remove it was to spray with a water bottle, wait a couple of miutes, and then it scrapes right off. Am going to use a light compound and skim the surface as there are a couple of places where nicked the paper. Do a small area at a time ( about 2-3 foot diameter circle). And clean up quickly after as will reharden on the floor. Not impossible to get off but save the trouble.

Water won't always work - especially if the the texture is well painted. You will probably need to scrape/sand what you can and then skim coat.