I have an Optimus-V also very low app space (not sure if it's any lower than the Nexus). What I do:
1. Back up apps you might use (but only occasionally) to SD, then uninstall. You can reinstall from SD in a minute or two if you need it later.
2. Uninstall any free Amazon apps you seldom use, you can reinstall from Amazon later.
3. Get rid of apps you don't use.
4. Replace apps you use with apps that are smaller or can be moved to SD. (ie: I replaced Weatherbug about 3mb, with Weather Buddy 600mb.. yeah you make some sacrifices).
5. Put an app like "SD Watch" on you phone, it's small and will tell you when an app can be moved to SD.
SDWatch | AppBrain Android Market
6. Put a cache cleaner on you phone, like
App Cache Cleaner - Android app on AppBrain You can get rid of 5-10mb per day if you surf much.
I'm able to keep 40mb free by doing these things. Appbrain shows 85 installed apps, total 126 mb. My apps:
http://www.appbrain.com/user/tcat007/apps-on-the-vm670