Dressing up like characters from pop culture, while cool, looks like a ton of work. Cosplay doesn't have to be hard, though. If you're willing to have fun with it, you can make all sorts of costumes with stuff you have lying around the house.
Such is the idea behind the My Half Assed Cosplay Ideas, a Tumblr by Patrick Dean dedicated to cosplay ideas for folks on a budget, or folks who want to cosplay casually. Most ideas don't require much effort—at least, relative to the kind of effort that a perfect cosplay recreation would take. All the ideas on the Tumblr are illustrated, and they briefly detail what items/process you'd need to make the costume. They also show that, with a little creativity, you could probably make any costume out of everyday stuff (or stuff you can buy cheaply from a thrift store).
Take a look at a few examples: