Guest suite first?

When we looked at the house, the first room we both thought needed our immediate help was the downstairs guest suite. After all, we live far from our friends and want them to have a place to crash when they come to visit, and this room was giving me the heebee-jeebees. It was also a good place to practice our DIY skills and learn some lessons. And boy, have we learned some lessons.
The guest suite is where the former owner had moved all of his things and lived after his wife passed. He left a ton of stuff behind- a bed with mattress and bedding, clothes, towels, and two hideous tiki-type lamps. There was also a minifridge and ancient microwave, which we used in our kitchen until my husband almost started a fire heating up some dinner for way too long.
Our second bathroom is part of the guest suite, and it's tiny and gross and half functional. The toilet and sink work, but the shower is just drywall on top of tile. Which means there's no waterproofing. It's a head scratcher, for sure. But our guests can not shower. Or shower upstairs. So the guest bath can wait. Back to the room!
The room also features two very old and dirty windows, outdoor access door, a thin plywood closet that sticks to the floor, plywood "desk," blue-gray linoleum floor, and the oddest feature, a faux drop ceiling with gold specks. Yuck.
First step: Remove all items except for the fridge. This step was gross but necessary. We donated pretty much everything to the Salvation Army, who picked it up for free! I kept a large pine dresser to refinish for myself, and then got my husband up on a ladder to begin the demolition of the ceiling.
Imagine our surprise when we discovered that the tiles were not a drop ceiling like we expected, but were actually glued to the ceiling with a ridiculously strong adhesive! Y'all, there is a BEAUTIFUL hand plastered ceiling up there! Ripping the tiles went quickly, and I swear the ceiling looks a foot higher. I was so excited. Then we tried to remove the glue. And this project came to a screaming halt.
To be continued...