Click on the link to learn how to optimize the storage on a device --> "How to check the storage on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch" - https://support.apple.com/HT201656
- "If your device is low on storage, iOS automatically optimizes its available space while installing an app, updating iOS, downloading music, recording videos, and more. To make more storage available, iOS can remove some of your items, like streamed music and videos, files in iCloud Drive, and parts of apps that aren't needed. It also removes temporary files and clears the cache on your device. iOS only removes items that can be downloaded again or that aren't needed anymore."
Here's the same information as a video: "How to free up space on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod" - https://youtu.be/bnhuHSv_WrI
Note this will help free up storage but iCloud is not an external drive. Files such as photos will still take up space on your device. Saving space with apps will depend upon how frequently you use them and the nuisance of having to redownload some. So whether or not this will help depends upon what you mean by "apps that take up a lot of storage."